The minister said the steps he had proposed were "seriously discussed" but encountered resistance in successive cabinet meetings. But his colleagues from two parties, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB),

U.N. calls Gaza famine preventable

A U.N.-backed food security group has issued a dire warning: famine has officially now taken hold in northern Gaza and is expected to spread in the coming months.

Israel has called the United Nations' declaration of famine in parts of Gaza an "outright lie," but multiple U.N. bodies, more than 100 humanitarian groups, and several of Israel's own allies have warned for months that the war and Israel's restrictions of food into Gaza are causing starvation among civilians.

The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu