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Famine is now a grim reality in Gaza, with children increasingly dying from hunger as Israel’s siege blocks essential aid, UN officials told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Deputy humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya confirmed famine in Gaza City and warned it will spread south to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September. She said over half a million people face starvation, a figure that could rise to 640,000 within weeks, while 132,000 children under five are at risk of severe malnutrition, Al Jazeera reported.

“This is not a natural disaster but a created catastrophe,” Msuya said. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 10 more famine-related deaths in the past day, bringing the war’s total to 313, including 119 children.

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on the southern outskirts of Damascus on Wednesday evening, according to residents and local media. At least eight raids hit areas near the town of al-Kiswah, while other strikes targeted military sites in Jabal al-Mani near al-Harjleh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

According to Xinhua, the attacks followed a drone strike a day earlier near al-Kiswah that killed six Syrian soldiers, an incident condemned by Damascus. Witnesses also reported intense Israeli aerial activity over Damascus, Daraa and Quneitra.

Israel has intensified strikes across Syria in recent months, with Damascus accusing it of expanding control in the occupied Golan Heights in violation of past agreements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appointed Olga Stefanishyna, the former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, as Ukraine’s new ambassador to the United States, Xinhua reported.

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said the embassy’s work would be revitalized, with a top priority on implementing defense agreements reached with US President Donald Trump. Stefanishyna succeeds Oksana Markarova, who had held the post since 2021.

Heavy rainfall across China has caused over 16bn yuan ($2.24bn) in road damage, affecting 23 provinces and regions, the transport ministry said.

Since the flood season began on July 1, authorities have allocated 540m yuan for emergency repairs. Floods, landslides, earthquakes, and droughts led to 52.2bn yuan in economic losses in July alone, Reuters reported.

Struggling with high debt, local governments face mounting pressure to fund public services, support businesses, and create jobs amid growing climate risks.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza, calling the attack “unjustifiable” and a threat to press freedom. According to Reuters, the statement followed Israel’s strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on Monday, which killed at least 20 people, including five journalists from Reuters, the Associated Press, and Al Jazeera.

Speaking at a political conference in Rimini, Meloni urged Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, allow humanitarian aid, and stop expanding settlements in the West Bank. She described the hospital strike as disproportionate, stressing the need to protect innocent civilians and preserve the two-state solution, Reuters reported.

Russia launched overnight drone attacks on energy and gas facilities across six Ukrainian regions, leaving over 100,000 people without power. Key infrastructure in Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Chernihiv was hit, with hospitals and water services relying on backup power. Poltava’s electricity has since been restored, according to Reuters.

Ukraine’s Air Force shot down 74 of 95 drones, but 21 struck targets. The energy ministry called the strikes a deliberate effort to disrupt civilian infrastructure ahead of winter, while Russia maintains it targets systems supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron aim to decide on the future of the Franco-German fighter jet program FCAS by year-end. Merz said the issue would not be discussed in upcoming government consultations but stressed Europe’s need for a new fighter jet, Reuters reported.

The €100bn project faces delays over leadership and work-share disputes, with France’s Dassault seeking dominant control while Germany favors a balanced consortium including Airbus and Indra. The disagreement threatens the start of FCAS’s second phase: developing airworthy demonstrators.

Merz will meet Macron Thursday, with ministers joining talks Friday, according to Reuters.

Pope Leo on Wednesday called for an end to the nearly two-year Israel-Hamas conflict, urging a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, and safe delivery of humanitarian aid. Speaking at the Vatican, he emphasized the need to protect civilians and fully respect international humanitarian law, including prohibitions on collective punishment and indiscriminate violence, Reuters reported.

The conflict, which began on October 7, 2023, has killed over 1,200 Israelis and at least 62,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, with 251 Israelis held hostage. Leo, the first US pope elected in May, has taken a more cautious approach than his predecessor, Pope Francis, who previously raised concerns about possible war crimes in Gaza.