Live Update arrow right icon From the Liveblog of Friday, October 17, 2025

UN says reversing famine in Gaza will take time

By AFP 17 October 2025, 1:06 pm 1 Edit

The United Nations says it will take time to reverse a famine in the Gaza Strip and urges the opening of all crossing points into the war-shattered Palestinian territory.

“It’s going to take some time to scale back the famine,” the UN World Food Programme’s spokeswoman Abeer Etefa tells a media briefing in Geneva, saying the WFP has five distribution points up and running but wants to get to 145 to “flood Gaza with food.”

Israel has continued to deny that the Gaza Strip is suffering from a famine, calling the declaration back in August a “modern blood libel.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Most Popular
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.