More than 360 people, including 130 children, have died from hunger since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

A total of 185 people in Gaza died “due to malnutrition” in August, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, as an additional 13 people, including three children, have died in 24 hours since then as the catastrophic effects of Israeli-induced famine in the enclave worsen.

The statement issued on Tuesday said more than 83 people, including 15 children, had died since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations-backed global hunger-monitoring system, declared last month that parts of Gaza were undergoing a full-blown famine.

The Health Ministry also said 43,000 children below the age of five were suffering from malnutrition along with more than 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women. Two-thirds of pregnant women were suffering from anaemia, the highest rate in years, it added. Mothers and newborns are the most at risk from malnutrition.

The total number of hunger-related deaths in the besieged enclave now stands at 361, including 130 children, since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Israel has killed at least 63,557 people in Gaza and wounded 160,660 during the war.

The IPC declared on August 22 that 514,000 people in the Gaza Strip, close to a quarter of the enclave’s population, are experiencing famine. It expected the number to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

The IPC made its declaration after more than 22 months of war, during which Israeli forces have destroyed medical facilities, schools, infrastructure and bakeries; blocked the entry of aid into the besieged Strip; and targeted and killed Palestinians seeking food aid.

This is the first time the IPC has recorded famine outside Africa, and the global group predicted that famine conditions would spread to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south by the end of this month.

After the IPC’s declaration, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the famine a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself”.

Guterres said Israel had “unequivocal obligations” under international law as an occupying power to ensure food and medical supplies enter Gaza.

Humanitarian organisations have demanded action. For its part, Israel rejected the findings, saying there was no famine in Gaza despite the IPC’s overwhelming evidence.

At least 54 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Tuesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported at midday from Deir el-Balah. Israeli attacks are now focused on Gaza City as the Israeli army bombs it and tries to forcibly displace its residents to the southern part of the enclave.

“Civilians on the ground are bearing the brunt. There are still hundreds of thousands of families in Gaza City,” Azzoum said. “They refuse to leave because they know that there are no safe spaces in central and southern Gaza and they would rather stay close to their communities and what’s left of their houses.”

Once teeming and crowded with residential buildings, Gaza City had been home to one million Palestinians, nearly half of Gaza’s population, but it is now a landscape of rubble.

The world’s top genocide scholars formally declared that Israel’s war on Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide, marking a landmark intervention from leading experts in the field of international law.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars, a 500-member body of academics founded in 1994, passed a resolution on Monday stating that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza fulfil the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said his ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping are at an “unprecedented level” as the two met in Beijing on the eve of a massive military parade.

Putin described Xi as a dear friend; Chinese state media said relations were exemplary. Russia is to increase supplies of gas to China, while Beijing will offer visa-free travel to Russians during a year-long trial.

Xi is also preparing to welcome North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in what appears to be a show of solidarity with both aggressors in the Ukraine war.

Xi will host China’s largest-ever military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese in China at the end of World War Two.

In May, Xi visited Moscow for Russia’s celebrations to mark the defeat of the Nazis.

Russia and North Korea rely on China to bolster their economies, and these meetings will allow the Chinese leader to signal the extent of his power and influence – at a time when Donald Trump is trying to do a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

All three will stand shoulder to shoulder on Wednesday as tens of thousands of troops march through the Chinese capital.

At the talks in the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Putin made no explicit reference to his war in Ukraine, saying only that he had discussed issues of common concern with his Chinese counterpart.

“Dear friend, both I and the entire Russian delegation are pleased to meet once again with our Chinese friends and colleagues,” Putin told Xi, according to a video published on the Kremlin’s official Telegram messaging app.

“Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China relations, which are at an unprecedentedly high level,” he added.

“We were always together then, and we remain together now.”

Xi told Putin that “China-Russia relations have withstood the test of international changes” – adding that Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to “promote the construction of a more just and reasonable global governance system”.

This week’s meetings come at a time when Xi seeks to project Beijing’s power on the international stage – not just as the world’s second-largest economy, but also as a diplomatic heavyweight.

Xi has emphasised China’s role as a stable trading partner while US president Donald Trump’s tariffs have upended economic relationships around the world.

Now, while a deal with the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine continues to elude Trump, Xi’s welcome of Putin to Beijing demonstrates their close ties.

The pair have previously touted their countries’ relationship as a “friendship with no limits”.

Russia hopes gas exports to China and other countries will replace revenue lost after Western sanctions were imposed over its Ukraine war.

Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday that once all projects are commissioned, the volume of pipeline gas supplies from Russia to China will amount to 106 billion cubic meters. That’s still far below what Russia sent to the European Union before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

China’s foreign ministry announced that it would extend month-long visa-free travel to Russian passport holders on a trial basis for a year, from 15 September.

Xi and Putin criticised Western governments at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on Monday, while Putin defended Russia’s Ukraine offensive and blamed the West for triggering the conflict.

In an apparent veiled reference to the US, Xi urged SCO members to “oppose Cold War thinking, bloc confrontation and bullying behaviour”.

Putin said the summit – which was also attended by world leaders from India, Iran and Pakistan – had laid the foundations for a new system to replace “outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models”.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will also attend the military parade on Wednesday, in what will be a landmark visit, after crossing the border into China on his special train early on Tuesday.

It is Kim’s first multilateral international meeting. It is also the first time in decades that a North Korean leader will attend a Chinese military parade – the last time this happened was when Kim’s grandfather, the founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung, attended in 1959.

Most Western leaders are not expected to show up at the parade, due to their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven the sanctions against Putin’s regime.

Beijing, however, has not criticised Putin’s war. It has been accused by the US and its allies of aiding Russia’s war effort – which Beijing denies – through its supply of dual-use materials and purchases of Russian oil.

Kim has supplied both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.

The world tennis No 1 beat Bublik in the round of 16, losing just three games and reversing a shock loss to the Kazakh in June.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner said he enjoyed the vibe of playing under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights after he continued his hardcourt Grand Slam run by hammering 23rd seed Alexander Bublik to make the US Open quarterfinals.

The Italian tennis player came into the match on Labour Day, seeking his 25th straight major match win on his preferred surface, and never looked in danger against a tricky rival, bolting out of the blocks to win 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on his night session debut this year.

“It’s always special to go on Ashe to play,” Sinner said after the match on Monday.

“Night matches, they’re a bit different because there’s a bit more attention, I feel. It’s a different vibe, also, around the court. It’s very loud. It’s also different to play.

“It was the first time for me this year. It was nice. You have the good and the bad if you play in the evening. It’s very special, and you feel very privileged to step onto court in the night on the biggest court we have.”

A mere 81 minutes after the clash began, Sinner was back in the locker room after gaining revenge for a shock defeat by Bublik on June 20, in the Halle Open final – his only loss to a player not named Carlos Alcaraz this year.

“We know each other well. We’ve had some tough battles this year, so we know each other a bit better,” the top-seeded Sinner said.

“He had a tough match last time [against Tommy Paul], finishing late. He didn’t serve as well as he does. I broke him in every set, and it gave me the confidence to play well.”

A double break helped Sinner build a 4-0 lead before Bublik could even get on the board, and the dominant 24-year-old chased down a drop shot to fire home a deep backhand winner that wrapped up the opening set with another break.

Bublik’s attempts to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm with more drop shots proved futile, but it was his service errors that left him trailing by two sets, before Sinner wheeled away to his eighth straight grand slam quarterfinal.

Up next is a meeting with compatriot Lorenzo Musetti. Sinner said it would be a great occasion for Italian tennis.

“It’s great to see. Italian tennis is in great form. We have so many players and different game styles,” he said.

“Lorenzo is one of the biggest talents we have in our sport. I’m looking forward to this one. From an Italian point of view, it’s great to have for sure one Italian player in the semis.

“I know that there are a lot of Italian players in the crowd. It makes everything special.”