‘Starvation is knocking on every door': Malnutrition in Gaza described as ‘horror show'
The Hamas-run health ministry says 15 people have died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours.
The UN says more than 1,000 people have died in Gaza since a new Israeli-run and US-backed aid distribution system was introduced in May.
The UN also says Gaza has got 3 months' worth of supplies sitting in trucks in neighbouring countries that Israel won't allow in. However, Israel does allow aid distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation into Gaza.
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SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Israel denies accusations of 'man-made mass starvation' in Gaza
Israel on Wednesday hit back at growing international criticism that it was behind chronic food shortages in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately creating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. More than 100 aid and human rights groups said earlier Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in the Gaza Strip, and France warned of a growing "risk of famine" caused by "the blockade imposed by Israel". The head of the World Health Organization also weighed in, saying that a "large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving". "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation — and it's man-made," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. An Israeli government spokesman, David Mencer, said there was "no famine caused by Israel. There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas." An organisation backed by the United States and Israel, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began distributing aid in Gaza in May as Israel eased a two-month total blockade, effectively sidelining the longstanding UN-led system. Aid agencies have said permissions from Israel were still limited, and coordination to safely move trucks to where they are needed was a major challenge in an active war zone. Mencer accused Hamas of preventing supplies from being distributed and looting aid for themselves or to sell at inflated prices. "Aid has been flowing into Gaza," he said, but blamed the United Nations and its associates for failing to pick up truckloads of foodstuffs and other essentials cleared and waiting on the Gaza side of the border. Access to aid in Gaza The United States, meanwhile, said its top Middle East envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor, raising hopes of a breakthrough after more than two weeks of negotiations. On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP that Israeli strikes killed 17 people overnight, including a pregnant woman in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City and elsewhere in the north, and had hit dozens of "terror targets" across the coastal territory. Getting vital aid into Gaza and to the more than two million people who need it has become a key issue in the conflict, with reports from doctors and aid agencies of increasing cases of malnutrition and starvation. Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, a 1.5-year-old child in Gaza, faces life-threatening malnutrition as the humanitarian situation worsens due to ongoing Israeli attacks and blockade. Source: Getty / Anadolu / Getty Images The humanitarian organisations said in a joint statement that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched inside and outside Gaza, while people were "trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires". "It is not just physical torment but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. The 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, residents told AFP how they battled to get food aid, with one man calling it "a catastrophic scene and a real famine". The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get aid since late May, most near GHF sites. Mediators continue to pursue truce Even after Israel began easing its aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. GHF said the UN, which refuses to work with it over neutrality concerns, "has a capacity and operational problem" and called for "more collaboration" to deliver life-saving aid. COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said the "main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid" was a "collection bottleneck" blamed on international organisations. Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Doha since 6 July in search of an elusive truce, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Why former Ramsay boss sees EMVision's portable stroke detection tech as game-changing
Former Ramsay boss and new EMVision director Carmel Monaghan believes its early stroke detection tech can transform lives Monaghan says EMVision is filling a gap in the market which could improve stroke outcomes Leading stroke centres in Australia and US taking part in pivotal trial for EMVision's first device, the emu bedside scanner EMVision's newest high-profile board director Carmel Monaghan believes the company's technology for early detection of stroke has the potential to "transform people's lives". Monaghan, who has joined the EMVision board as a non-executive director, stepped down this month from Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC) after five years as CEO of Ramsay Australia. Ramsay is Australia's largest private hospital operator and offers a range of multidisciplinary healthcare services along with extensive operations internationally. "EMVision is filling a gap in the market, and I've been impressed with the level of research undertaken over the last seven or eight years to bring rapid portable stroke sensing and imaging to point of care, which will really transform people's lives," Monaghan told Stockhead. "We know that time is brain in stroke diagnostics so getting quick, easy access to that neurodiagnostic solution can lead to a much-improved outcome." EMVision is currently undertaking a pivotal trial to support US Food and Drug (FDA) de novo (new device) clearance for its first commercial device – the emu bedside scanner – which is designed to rapidly diagnose stroke at the point-of-care. If granted clearance emu is anticipated to become the predicate device for its second device, First Responder, allowing an expedited 510(k) FDA pathway for the pre-hospital market. Leading stroke centres in Australia and the US are taking part in the trial including Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Houston's Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic in Florida. EMV is also advancing a strategy to drive ongoing device innovation, refine its algorithms and generate data to support potential expansion of indications to include traumatic brain injury (TBI). This work forms part of EMVision's Continuous Innovation Study, which has received ethics approval to start scanning patients with suspected stroke or TBI at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital and Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital – both high-volume, comprehensive stroke and level-one trauma centres. Interest in advancing medical innovation Monaghan brings nearly 30 years of experience across hospital, corporate, and international roles at Ramsay. Before becoming CEO in 2020, she served as group chief of staff for Ramsay's global operations, gaining deep operational and strategic insight into the healthcare sector in both Australia and overseas. Monaghan also held the role of group head of marketing and public affairs, where she led the company's marketing, brand and communications strategy during a period of significant global expansion that saw Ramsay become one of the world's leading private healthcare operators. "I'm passionate about enhancing patient care through emphasising and embedding research and clinical trials into operations," Monaghan said. "I drove the expansion of clinical trials at Ramsay because I could see how this made a difference to clinical outcomes and people's lives. "At any one time, we had more than 250 clinical trials being undertaken at Ramsay facilities. "I am really interested in getting research to implementation and giving people hope and that has been a big passion of mine and what I love about medicine." Monaghan emphasised that whether it's drugs or devices, the goal is the same – to test and prove their impact, ultimately improving not just mortality rates but quality of life for people living with the burden of disease. "I've seen it with cancer drugs, robotic technology and that is what attracted me to EMVision. "It is health innovation with purpose and impact." World-renowned clinical team Monaghan noted EMVision's impressive technical, clinical and leadership team. She joins vastly experienced clinicians, medtech and business leaders on the board. The company's clinical advisory group also includes world-leading clinicians, working to address a strong clinical need. "EMVision have world-leading neurologists advising them along with huge luminary hospitals in the US like Mayo and Mt Sinnai, which are now scanning and enrolling patients,' she said, noting there are around 12.5 million strokes globally each year with 6.5 million dying annually. "It is a big burden of disease and one in four people globally over 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime, which has increased 50% over the past 17 years. "With stroke every minute counts and the outcome is heavily influenced by how quick the treatment is delivered. "Both the emu and First Responder will fill a gap where CT is just not practical and means the clinician who needs to make a quick treatment decision can do that effectively." She added that in the future there will also be interest in how the devices could be used to promptly diagnose TBI. "That is down the track, but it has great potential with studies underway at the John Hunter and the Princess Alexandra Hospital that will allow us to begin evaluating traumatic brain injury using our technology." Australia's global edge in health innovation Mongahan said Australia had long punched above its weight in health innovation, producing homegrown companies that have made a global impact. From hospitals to high-tech medical devices, the nation has cultivated a strong foundation in scientific research and clinical excellence – factors that continue to drive international success. She pointed to ASX-listed healthcare heavyweights such as Ramsay, blood products leader CSL (ASX:CSL), hearing implant pioneer Cochlear (ASX:COH), diagnostics and imaging specialist Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), and sleep disorder device manufacturer ResMed (ASX:RMD) as world-class companies. "I have always admired how fantastic Australia is with healthcare and it's because we have such well-trained doctors and good scientific research," she said. "They've all been amazing, admirable companies which have been able to successfully transition overseas. "I think it's exciting how Australia has always performed so strongly in the health field, driven by world-class scientific research and highly trained medical professionals." At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While EMVision is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Mideast wars inflict psychic wounds on Arab-Aust women
Worrying sick about loved ones under bombardment in Gaza induces acute anxiety and stress for Arab-Australian women trying to make it through the day. Research published in The Lancet journal has examined the mental health impacts of ongoing wars in the Middle East and how they affect women connected to the region living in Australia. University of NSW researchers found panic disorder symptoms, poorer quality of life and other psychosocial stress indicators only increased for the women affected by the current carnage, compared to other Australian-born and migrant women. Symptoms appeared suddenly in multiple ways including rapid heart rate, dizziness, trembling, sweating and nausea. "It's like a panic attack, but it's very much tied to a particular event," lead author Susan Rees told AAP. "In this case, the prevailing mass deaths, injuries and starvation." The events were prompting direct, visceral reminders for the women of their own experiences. "Such as having their house bombed, fleeing for safety, having family members injured or killed, which was the most extreme," Professor Rees said. About 17,000 children are among almost 60,000 people killed in Israel's retaliatory military assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the United Nations said. It followed militant group Hamas attacking Israel, killing about 1200 people and capturing some 250 hostages. The longitudinal study assessed 410 women living in Australia about 12-18 months before and during the ongoing war on Gaza, extending from October 2023 until December 2024. The women were directly connected by birth or family to Gaza, the occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon, as well as migrant women from other non-Middle East countries and Australian-born women with no connection to the region. One participant from the Middle East-connected group, which made up one-fifth of the total study, told researchers she felt like a robot: functioning but not fully engaging with her surroundings. "This experience indicates that the person may be emotionally alienated and disconnected from daily life and routines," Prof Rees explained. "You're just thinking all the time about your family and what's going on, and you're trying not to communicate it to children because you don't want them to get upset." Another woman said she spent many sleepless nights telling her family in southern Lebanon to evacuate, after hearing radio reports saying Israeli forces were attacking their particular area. "They can't protect them directly on the ground and are trying to do it from thousands of kilometres away," Prof Rees said. The dire mental health consequences for such a large population in Australia could be prolonged unless there were targeted clinical interventions as well as political ones, she said. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
