Israel-Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar.

Today's three stories you should know.

Dec 21, 2023

Israel-Palestine

This is horrifying. More than 570,000 people in Gaza - that’s a quarter of the population - are starving, the United Nations and several aid agencies said in a report today as Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian enclave continued. The report said the risk of full-blown famine was increasing every day and that there were “woefully insufficient” quantities of food available in the strip. “It doesn’t get any worse,’’ Arif Husain, chief economist for the UN’s World Food Programme, said. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed.”

Sudan

Sticking with hunger sadly, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily stopped food aid to some parts of Sudan’s al-Jazirah state where it had been providing support to about 800,000 people. Some 300,000 people have fled the state - previously a relative safe haven from the country’s conflict - after the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group advanced into the region. “We are committed to supporting the people of Sudan in their hour of greatest need, but the safety of our staff and partners must be guaranteed,” Eddie Rowe, WFP country director in Sudan, said.

Myanmar

Myanmar’s military has killed indiscriminately, detained civilians, and used air-dropped cluster munitions while battling an increasingly fierce insurgency, rights group Amnesty International said in a new report today. “The Myanmar military has a blood-stained résumé of indiscriminate attacks with devastating consequences for civilians, and its brutal response to a major offensive by armed groups fits a longstanding pattern,” said Matt Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program. Amnesty said the army must be investigated for crimes.