Archive August 18, 2025

In northwest Pakistan, which was ravaged by landslides and flash floods on Friday, rescuers are searching for more than 150 missing people.

At least 344 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed by the flash foods caused by torrential rains.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where monsoon rains are anticipated to only increase in the coming days, flooding and landslides that caused houses to collapse was the most common cause of the 317 fatalities reported.

According to authorities, “10 to 12 entire villages” were partially buried in Buner and at least 208 people have been killed and more than 150 have gone missing.

According to Asfandyar Khattak, the provincial disaster management authority’s head, “They could be swept away by floodwaters or trapped beneath the rubble of their homes.”

“Separately, in Shangla district, dozens of people are reported missing,” Khattak continued.

About 2, 000 rescue workers are employed in nine districts, according to a spokesman for the province’s rescue agency, whose rain is still hampered efforts.

According to Bilal Ahmad Faizi, “the operation to rescue people trapped under debris is ongoing.”

He continued, “There are very slim chances that those who are buried beneath the debris will survive.”

The electricity supply was restored on Sunday afternoon after days of power loss.

A few villagers worked to cut down fallen trees to clear the way after the water drained, which hindered the movement of rescue vehicles.

The provincial government has designated Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and Battagram as disaster-hit areas.

On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered for mass funerals, laying bodies on the village’s ground covered in white shawls.

Pope Leo XIV prayed for “all those who suffer because of this calamity” as Iran declared it was ready to “provide any cooperation and assistance aimed at reducing the suffering” in neighboring Pakistan.

South Asia receives about three-quarters of its annual rainfall, which is essential for agriculture and food production, but also causes destruction.

According to Lieutenant General Inam Haider, head of the national disaster agency, “the intensity of this year’s monsoon is about 50 to 60 percent higher than last year.”

He told journalists in Islamabad that “two to three more monsoon spells are anticipated until the first weeks of September.”

The season typically begins in June and eases by the end of September, which are a common occurrence during the summer.

More than 650 people have been killed and more than 920 have been injured as a result of the torrential rains that have poured into Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon.

As the United Nations and aid organizations issue warnings about famine in the Palestinian enclave, Israel has been accused of engaging in a “deliberate policy of starvation” in Gaza.

Amnesty International stated in a report that quoted displaced Palestinians and medical personnel who had treated malnourished children that “Israel is engaged in a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip.”

Israel was accused of “systematically destroying Palestinian life’s health, well-being, and social fabric” by the group.

According to Amnesty, “it is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented over the past 22 months to purposefully cause Palestinians in Gaza to suffer conditions of life that are meant to cause their physical destruction,” according to Amnesty.

Since starting its military offensive on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed nearly 62, 000 Palestinians and destroyed Gaza. It has been referred to as a “war of vengeance” by activists and human rights organizations, and Israeli actions have been labeled a genocide.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant are both facing war crimes arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.

Based on interviews with 19 displaced Palestinians in Gaza who are residing in three makeshift camps and two doctors in two Gaza City hospitals, the report draws its conclusions from recent interviews.

“I worry about having a baby, but I also worry about having one.” I’m just thinking about the potential effects of my own hunger on the baby’s health, weight, [birth defects] and what life awaits the baby in the midst of displacement, bombs, and tents, as Hadeel, 28, a mother of two who is four months pregnant, was quoted as saying in the report.

A 75-year-old woman expressed her desire to pass away. I feel like my family is burdened by me. My grandchildren are the ones who deserve to live, in my opinion. I feel like my son and I are burdens on them,” Aziza said.

The testimonies we have collected are far more than just accounts of suffering, according to Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns at Amnesty International. They are a searing indictment of an international system that has allowed Israel to torture Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades.

As Israel’s attacks on Gaza City’s main urban center intensify, nearly one million Palestinians are facing forced displacement in the city’s largest city. Many of the residents have been displaced repeatedly in the last two years.

call for a truce

Rosas called for “the immediate, unwavering lifting of the blockade and a sustained ceasefire” in order to reverse “the devastating effects of Israel’s inhumane policies and actions” in Gaza.

Rosas remarked, “The impact of Israel’s blockade and its ongoing genocide on civilians, particularly children, people with disabilities, those with chronic illnesses, older people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, is catastrophic and cannot be undone by simply increasing the number of aid trucks or restoring performative, ineffective, and dangerous airdrops of aid.”

At the time of publication, Amnesty International and the Israeli military made no statements regarding the findings.

Israel has repeatedly refuted claims of deliberate starvation, despite strict restrictions on the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli blockade caused the deaths of more than 250 Palestinians, including 110 children, during the conflict. Since 2007 the enclave, which has 2.1 million residents, has been subject to an Israeli land, air, and sea blockade, which has tightened since then, with some preventing all aid entering and now allowing only a small amount of supplies into the Strip.

Despite receiving widespread condemnation from the UN and the international community in general, the Israeli military body that oversees civil affairs in Palestinian territory rejected claims of widespread malnutrition in Gaza in a report released last week.

“Famine is coming to pass right before our eyes.”

Israel has been urged by Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan, Australia, and a number of their European allies to allow unrestricted aid into Gaza, under the condition that it has reached “unimaginable levels.”

“Famine is brewing right before our eyes.” The top diplomat of the European Union and the foreign ministers of about 20 countries made a joint statement last week saying urgent action is required to stop and stop starvation.

As a result of Israel’s 22-month blockade and relentless attacks, a man-made famine is ravaging Gaza’s homes and tents.

At least 263 people in Gaza were currently starving, including 112 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry there as of August 17.

Why is Gaza’s food supply insufficient?

Israel completely sealed Gaza’s crossings between March and mid-May, preventing access to food, water, and aid. Extreme shortages were caused by the blockade, which led to severe hunger and dehydration for Gaza’s already fragile population.

More than 100 aid organizations, including well-known organizations like Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Amnesty International, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), condemned Israel’s use of force on August 14 and claimed it was preventing life-saving aid from entering Gaza.

While Palestinians continue to be starving, a large number of relief supplies are stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt.

Amnesty International, a rights organization, charged Israel with “systematically destroying the health, wellbeing, and social fabric of Palestinian life” on Monday.

According to Amnesty, “it is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented over the past 22 months to purposefully cause Palestinians in Gaza to suffer conditions of life that are meant to cause their physical destruction,” according to Amnesty.

Given the Israeli blockade that has been in place since 2007, Gaza has always been dependent on aid.

Before October 7, 2023, about 500 aid trucks entered daily, nearly 15, 000 a month. Delivery levels have fluctuated significantly since then, rarely reaching the pre-war level needed to support the territory’s 2.3 million residents.

When does malnutrition endanger people?

For survival, the human body depends on glucose from food. It initially burns fat to keep the heart beating, but persistent hunger eventually leads to organ failure, which can eventually kill.

Daily functioning is affected by prolonged malnutrition, which also causes brain fog and trouble speaking or thinking.

Because of rapid damage to their developing bodies and organs, children are most vulnerable.

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life, which include pregnancy and up to the age of two, are crucial for their development.

Malnutrition can have devastating long-term effects that prevent cognitive development, physical development, and, in some cases, even fatality, when not treated with nutrition and therapies.

More and more images of children in the “red” zone on MUAC tapes, which measure the upper arm circumference, are emerging in Gaza, where food shortages have been severe for months.

A measurement below 11.5 cm indicates severe acute malnähration. These kids need urgent care, and those who don’t are do so are at a high risk of dying.

Children with severe malnutrition may exhibit physical characteristics like sunken, pale eyes, flaky skin, hair loss, and swollen belly as a result of severe protein deficiency-causing oedema fluid buildup in the body.

How is famine determined?

The worst form of hunger is famine, where there are severe food shortages, widespread malnourishment, and starvation-related death rates.

Because Israel has nearly destroyed all of the health facilities, it is difficult to assess the situation in Gaza. Famine is defined as: a state in which:

• Extreme food shortages are present in at least 20% of households.
• More than 30% of the population is affected by acute malnutrition.
• More than 2 deaths per 10,000 people are killed each day.