14 UN Security Council members call for action to address famine in Gaza

Fourteen members of the United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement Wednesday, calling for immediate action to address famine in the Gaza Strip and describing the humanitarian situation as a "man-made crisis."

At a press encounter at UN headquarters in the New York City, representatives from Guyana and Slovenia gave statements in their capacity as the Security Council's informal co-focal points on conflict and hunger.

They spoke on behalf of 12 other Council Members, namely Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and the United Kingdom.

The statements cited the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which "clearly and unequivocally" confirms famine in the Strip.

Nearly 1.5 million people are facing emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity, and at least 132,000 children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and June 2026, according to the report.

"We stand in front of you, especially disturbed by the levels of acute malnutrition among children in Gaza. We note that at least 41,000 children are at heightened risk of death from malnutrition between now and June 2026. This is a man-made crisis. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately," said Trishala Simantini Persaud, Guyana's deputy permanent representative to the UN.

The co-focal points called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire and release of detainees, while urging Israel to lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid.

"Israel must immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on aid delivery. This includes opening all land routes and allowing the UN and humanitarian partners to operate safely and at scale," said Ondina Blokar Drobic, deputy permanent representative of Slovenia to the UN.

The members urged Israel to immediately reverse its decision to further expand its military operation in Gaza in order to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

They also stressed the urgency of the situation, concluding that the humanitarian emergency must be addressed immediately.

14 UN Security Council members call for action to address famine in Gaza

Year-end box office revenues in China are strong, with sales and pre-sales for screenings between Nov 28 and Dec 31 exceeding 4 billion yuan (about 570 million U.S. dollars) by 22:45 on Thursday, according to online platform data.

The strong performance in the year-end season has been driven by high-quality moviemaking and a broad selection of movies, with more than 50 films scheduled for release during the period, covering suspense, drama, action and science fiction.

Among domestic productions, war drama "Gezhi Town", which tells the little-known story of civilians in a remote mountain town in central China defending their home against Japanese aggression back in the late 1930s, has raked in over 330 million yuan (about 46.87 million U.S. dollars) at the box office, including previews and pre-sales.

Several other domestic titles, including suspense films "The Fire Raven" and "Escape from the Outland" as well as the fantasy time-travel adaptation "Back to the Past," are set to be released on Dec 31, offering audiences many different options for New Year's Eve.

On the imported film front, "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the third installment of the franchise which features new adventures and upgraded 3D visuals, will hit Chinese theaters on Dec 19.

Another import, "Zootopia 2," has already grossed over 3.6 billion yuan (about 511 million U.S. dollars) in China, surpassing its North American earnings and making China the film's top-grossing market worldwide.

China's year-end box office revenues surpass 4 billion yuan