The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza, the first time it has done so in the Middle East, with experts warning 500,000 people face "catastrophic" hunger.

The minister said the steps he had proposed were "seriously discussed" but encountered resistance in successive cabinet meetings. But his colleagues from two parties, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB),

Israel has called the unbacked assessment “an outright lie.”