For today, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, the Cradle, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA 8-2-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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Israeli forces kill over 20 aid-seekers in Gaza as Israeli minister prays at flashpoint holy site, by Wafaa Shurafa, Sam Metz and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in Gaza, according to hospital officials and witnesses, who described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites, as the malnutrition related death toll also rose. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for 10 photos from AP.

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Six more die of hunger in Gaza as trucks reach border for rare fuel delivery. From Reuters. Six more people died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said, underlining the enclave’s humanitarian emergency as Egyptian . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Unimaginable’ hunger: U.S. doctor. From Middle East Monitor. In an interview with Anadolu, a Dr. Cooper, who has been working in Gaza for just three days, said the situation is beyond imagination, with children as young as five collapsing from starvation. Click HERE for report and video of him speaking.

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Hamas rejects disarmament. From the Cradle. Hamas said on Saturday it will not surrender its weapons, as a response to claims made by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff about the resistance movement’s willingness to disarm. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 1  Hamas links truce talks to aiding Gaza as Israel abandons ‘partial deals,‘ by Mera Aladam | Middle East Eye  Hamas has made resolving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza a precondition for engaging in further ceasefire negotiations. In a statement on Thursday . . . READ MORE . . .

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Starvation as strategy: Netanyahu’s war crimes and America, by Jasim Al-Azzawi | Middle East Monitor  The U.S. endorsement of Israel’s starvation siege on Gaza is not just a policy misstep—it is a grotesque moral betrayal that will haunt the nation’s soul and forever brand President Trump’s legacy with shame. READ MORE . . .

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