The Latest: Israel is pushing Gaza into starvation, aid groups say

More than 100 charity and human rights groups say Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation. Israeli strikes meanwhile killed another 21 people overnight and into Wednesday, according to local health officials.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the groups' criticism and accused them of “echoing Hamas’ propaganda.”

The Trump administration’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.

Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Here is the latest:

European diplomats say EU deal with Israel over Gaza aid is falling short

Israel is far behind on its commitments under the new deal with the European Union, frustrating many within the 27-nation bloc, three European diplomats said Wednesday. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material.

Only 132 aid trucks and 80-120,000 liters of fuel have gotten into Gaza in the week since the deal was reached, two of the diplomats said.

Member states are urging the EU to pressure Israel to allow more aid. An internal EU report seen by The Associated Press highlighted concerns that “there is still no tangible increase, with important stocks of relief items stuck and piling up at the borders.”

Details of agreement remain murky, even to EU nations.

— By Sam McNeil in Jerusalem

Palestinian Authority says a teen is killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank

The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry says a 14-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces near Jenin in the northern West Bank.

Ibrahim Hamran is the second teen to have been killed by Israeli forces in as many days. The ministry said Ibrahim Nasser, 16, was killed near Jenin on Tuesday.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the war in Gaza.

White House says Mideast envoy is headed to Europe

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Witkoff would meet with key leaders from the Middle East to discuss the ceasefire proposal and release of hostages.

“We want this ceasefire to happen as soon as possible and we want these hostages to be released,” Leavitt said.

UN says the agency helping Palestinian refugees known UNRWA will soon run out of money

Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the U.N. Security Council that current forecasts show insufficient funds to sustain operations beyond 2025.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The agency provides health and education services to around 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, and helps 3 million more in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric urges donors to contribute, emphasizing the agency’s critical role.

UN defends humanitarian agency’s 'professionalism and impartial work’ in Gaza

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Israel’s actions against the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will only hinder efforts to held Palestinians facing hunger and displacement.

Earlier, Israel’s U.N. ambassador accused OCHA of bias and claimed some staff are linked to Hamas. He also demanded a retraction of the agency head's statement allegedly accusing Israel of genocide.

Dujarric clarified that U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher never made such a statement, and said the U.N. would investigate any evidence Israel provides regarding alleged Hamas affiliations among U.N. staff.

Israeli strike in central Gaza kills at least 8 and wounds 57

Awda Hospital, which received the casualties, said the strike hit a densely populated part of the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp.

Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of genocide and starving Palestinians in Gaza

The climate campaigner spoke Wednesday at a small rally in the main square of Albania’s capital, Tirana.

“If watching children at being systematically starved, over two million people being systematically starved by Israel, is not enough to motivate you to get out of the couch, then what is it going to take?” Thunberg said.

She said the international community is complicit due to its silence regarding Israel’s wartime conduct, and called for continuing worldwide protests “for a free Palestine."

The Israeli military detained Thunberg and 11 other activists last month on board Gaza-bound aid ship that aimed to break Israel’s blockade.

Muslim authority removes post accusing Israel of genocide Gaza

Egypt’s Al-Azhar, a leading authority in Sunni Islam, has deleted a lengthy online post in which it accused Israel of starving Gaza and committing a ’full-scale genocide.”

It said that it had “courageously” removed the post to avoid jeopardizing ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

Political and religious authorities across the Arab and Muslim world have condemned Israel’s wartime conduct.

Egypt, a close U.S. ally that made peace with Israel decades ago, has served as a mediator in long-running ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

A case has been brought before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, and rights groups have lodged similar allegations. Israel vehemently rejects the accusation, calling it a “blood libel.”

UN says war in Gaza is ‘catastrophic’ for new mothers and babies

The United Nations agency for reproductive health says new data shows a major decline in births and a rise in maternal deaths in the Gaza Strip.

UNFPA says 17,000 births were recorded in the first half of this year, down 41% from the corresponding period in 2022. It also showed 220 stillbirths, more than 20 times the number recorded three years ago, before the Israel-Hamas war.

It says 33% of babies – around 5,560 – were born prematurely, underweight or required intensive care.

“The scale of suffering for new mothers and their babies in Gaza is beyond comprehension,” said Laila Baker, Regional Director for the Arab States at UNFPA.

The war has gutted Gaza’s health system, with several hospitals having shut down or reduced their operations because of Israeli raids and lack of medical supplies.