A joint statement from 28 nations has demanded an end to the war in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. The statement says the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths, meaning it is worse than ever. Hundreds of people in Gaza have been killed trying to get food from aid operations controlled by Israel. More than 100 aid agencies say mass starvation is spreading across Gaza. Over 59,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its offensive after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, according to Gaza's health ministry, run by Hamas.
Israel has rejected the criticism in the joint statement from the 28 nations as being disconnected from reality. Let's have our first headline. Foreign ministers of 28 countries call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza. And that's from Euronews. And that headline again from Euronews. Foreign ministers of 28 countries call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This headline is about countries calling for a ceasefire. That's an agreement to stop fighting. We're interested in the phrase 'call for'. What can you tell us, Beth?
Well, when you call for something to happen, you ask strongly for it to happen. Now imagine 28 people literally calling, shouting out that they want to see a change. In this case, the foreign ministers have written a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire. OK. But it still has that sense of urgency. Is call for similar to demand, Beth? Well, call for isn't quite as strong as demand. It's a slightly softer way to say you feel very strongly that something needs to happen.
So if the headline said foreign ministers demand an immediate ceasefire, it would sound slightly stronger than call for, although call for still has a lot of force behind it. In this case, it's foreign ministers, so politicians, who are calling for a ceasefire. But it could be members of a group, society or even countries who call for something to happen. Yes. So citizens of a country might call for the resignation of the president after a scandal, for example.
Call for is most often used for serious and often large-scale situations, like an end to a war or a big change that affects lots of people. We've had call for request something strongly. For example, flood victims are calling for stronger action against climate change. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about the war in Gaza. As we've heard, the UK and 27 other countries have condemned so strongly-criticised situation in Gaza.
One aspect of their statement is about humanitarian aid, that's food and essential supplies like medicine. Israel controls the distribution of aid in Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or the GHF, which is also backed by the US. However, since the GHF replaced other aid agencies, over 800 Palestinians trying to receive humanitarian aid have reportedly been killed at aid-distribution sites. Food security body the IPC warns more than 1.5 million Gazans are at risk of severe malnutrition or starvation as a result of the war and lack of aid.
And doctors in Gaza are reporting deaths from malnutrition. Our next headline is about the aid situation in Gaza. UK and 27 nations accuse Israel of drip-feeding aid to Gaza civilians as they condemn horrifying killings. And that's from BBC News. That headline again from BBC News. UK and 27 nations accuse Israel of drip-feeding aid to Gaza civilians as they condemn horrifying killings. So this headline says nations accuse Israel of drip-feeding aid to Gaza. And drip-feeding is what we're looking at.
Yes. When someone is in hospital, they might have a drip, which is a tube which gives them medicine slowly in small amounts. The action is to drip-feed the medicine. That's literal. But drip-feed doesn't have to just be about medicine. We also use it metaphorically, so drip-feed is when something is given to someone in separate small amounts. In the headline, Israel is being accused of drip-feeding aid to Gaza. It means aid is given little by little. And in this case, it is a criticism.
A lot of aid is needed in Gaza and critics say there isn't enough for everyone. And the people who do get aid don't get enough of it. We can use drip-feed in other situations such as to talk about information. For example, when you feel you're not given enough information, you could say you're being drip-fed information. Drip-feed isn't always used about negative situations. So for example, a company might drip-feed updates about a new product to get customers interested.
We've had drip-feed give in separate small amounts. For example, relatives felt they were being drip-fed information on their missing loved ones after the storm. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about the war in Gaza. Israel went to war after the Hamas attacks of the 7th of October, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 people were taken into Gaza as hostages. Israel's allies such as the UK and France have supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against Hamas attacks, but this new statement calls for an end to the war and raises concerns about the humanitarian situation.
Israel has defended its actions and blamed Hamas for the situation in Gaza. And our next headline is about this. This headline is from winetnews.com, which is an Israeli news site. As over 25 countries demand end to Gaza war, Israel points fingers at Hamas. And that headline again from winetnews.com, an Israeli news site. As over 25 countries demand end to Gaza war, Israel points fingers at Hamas. This headline is about Israel's response to criticism. It says Israel points fingers at Hamas.
What does points fingers mean, Beth? Well, pointing your finger at someone is a gesture, often used to identify or accuse someone. We can say the phrase point fingers metaphorically to mean blame or accuse someone for a situation. So in this story, Israel points fingers at Hamas. It means Israel is blaming Hamas for the situation. We see the expression point fingers in stories where there might be a disagreement about who is to blame for a particular situation.
And we can also use point fingers in everyday English to talk about blame and accusations. For example, you might say, don't point fingers at me, which means don't blame me, I'm innocent. We've had point fingers, blame. For example, the company is pointing fingers at its suppliers for problems with faulty products.