Gaza facing starvation, UN warns, as Israel begins daily halt to operations
Warning of 'famine-like conditions' in parts of Gaza, World Food Program country director Antoine Renard said about 80 of its trucks had entered Gaza on Sunday, and another 130 trucks arrived via Jordan, Ashdod and Egypt. Other aid was moving through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
But he stressed even this was not enough to counter the 'current starvation' in Gaza.
The World Health Organisation on Monday (AEST) warned of 'alarming levels' of malnutrition, with a spike in hunger-related deaths this month.
Loading
Some 63 out of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this year occurred in July – including 24 children younger than five, a child older than five, and 38 adults, a WHO update said.
'Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting,' the WHO said.
Netanyahu accuses the UN
The Israeli military said a 'tactical pause' in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi from 10am to 8pm daily (Gaza time), all with large populations, would increase humanitarian aid entering the territory.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, 'Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies.'
Netanyahu also accused the UN in a statement of 'making excuses and lying' about the lack of safe corridors to deliver aid.
'There are secured routes. There always were, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses.'
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher welcomed the apparent scaling-up of aid deliveries, but warned that action needed to be 'sustained, vast, and fast'.
Images of emaciated children have fanned criticism of Israel, including by allies who call for an end to the war. Israel has restricted aid to Gaza's population of over 2 million because it says Hamas siphons it off to bolster its rule, without providing evidence.
Much of the population, squeezed into ever-smaller patches of land, now relies on aid.
Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, according to the latest WHO figures, while the percentage of children aged 6–59 months suffering from acute malnutrition has tripled since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Gaza Strip.
In Khan Younis and the Middle Area, rates have doubled in less than a month. These figures are likely an underestimate due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities, the WHO said.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said Israel's change of approach on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgment of Palestinians starving in Gaza, and asserted that it was meant to improve Israel's international standing and not save lives.
Killed seeking aid
Elsewhere in Gaza, Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 13 people on Sunday, including four children and a woman, and wounded 101 as they headed towards an aid distribution site in central Gaza run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Israel's military said it fired warning shots to prevent a 'gathering of suspects' from approaching the site before opening hours. The GHF said there were no incidents at or near its sites.
Thirteen others were killed seeking aid elsewhere, including north-western Gaza City, where over 50 people were wounded, and near the Zikim crossing, where over 90 were wounded, hospital officials and medics said.
Israel's military said two soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the total to 898 since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war.
Hamas killed 1200 people, mostly civilians, in that attack, and took 251 hostages.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians.
Loading
The ministry says over half of the dead are women and children, and while it operates under the Hamas government, the UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of casualty data.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza 'terrible.'
Israel and the US recalled negotiating teams from Qatar last week, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering 'alternative options' to talks.
Israel has said it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused. Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas' negotiating delegation, said the group had displayed 'maximum flexibility'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
10 hours ago
- The Age
Israel's leader claims no one in Gaza is starving. Data and witnesses disagree
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no one in Gaza is starving: 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza – otherwise, there would be no Gazans.' US President Donald Trump on Monday said he disagreed with Netanyahu's claim of no starvation, noting the images emerging of emaciated people: 'Those children look very hungry.' After international pressure, Israel at the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long the latest measures will last. 'This aid, delivered in this way, is an insult to the Palestinian people,' said Hasan Al-Zalaan, who was at the site of an airdrop as some fought over the supplies, and crushed cans of chickpeas littered the ground. Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn't reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its militants of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that the looting of aid is systematic and that it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. Here's what we know. Deaths are increasing The World Health Organisation said on Sunday there had been 63 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this month, including 24 children under the age of five – up from 11 deaths total the previous six months of the year.
Canberra Times
10 hours ago
- Canberra Times
Dozens die in Israeli fire as war in Gaza drags on
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Dozens die in Israeli fire as war in Gaza drags on
Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed at least 46 Palestinians, most of them among crowds seeking food, local hospitals say. The dead overnight into Wednesday morning include more than 30 people who were killed while seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that treated dozens of wounded people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. The deaths came as the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, following a similar declaration by France's president. Israel's foreign ministry said it rejected the British statement. The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed on Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body for a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi addition, seven Palestinians, including a child, had died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults had also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Hamas started the war with a militant-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, though Israel believes that more than half the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, operates under the Hamas government. Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed at least 46 Palestinians, most of them among crowds seeking food, local hospitals say. The dead overnight into Wednesday morning include more than 30 people who were killed while seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that treated dozens of wounded people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. The deaths came as the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, following a similar declaration by France's president. Israel's foreign ministry said it rejected the British statement. The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed on Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body for a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi addition, seven Palestinians, including a child, had died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults had also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Hamas started the war with a militant-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, though Israel believes that more than half the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, operates under the Hamas government. Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed at least 46 Palestinians, most of them among crowds seeking food, local hospitals say. The dead overnight into Wednesday morning include more than 30 people who were killed while seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that treated dozens of wounded people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. The deaths came as the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, following a similar declaration by France's president. Israel's foreign ministry said it rejected the British statement. The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed on Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body for a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi addition, seven Palestinians, including a child, had died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults had also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Hamas started the war with a militant-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, though Israel believes that more than half the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, operates under the Hamas government. Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed at least 46 Palestinians, most of them among crowds seeking food, local hospitals say. The dead overnight into Wednesday morning include more than 30 people who were killed while seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that treated dozens of wounded people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. The deaths came as the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, following a similar declaration by France's president. Israel's foreign ministry said it rejected the British statement. The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed on Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body for a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi addition, seven Palestinians, including a child, had died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults had also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Hamas started the war with a militant-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, though Israel believes that more than half the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, operates under the Hamas government.
