Aid groups warn of starving children as European powers discuss Gaza
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that a quarter of the young children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers it had screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, a day after the United Nations said one in five children in Gaza City were suffering from malnutrition.
With fears of mass starvation growing, Britain, France and Germany were set to hold an emergency call to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and discuss steps towards Palestinian statehood.
"I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The call comes after hopes of a new ceasefire in Gaza faded on Thursday when Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar.
US envoy Steve Witkoff accused the Palestinian militant group of not "acting in good faith".
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France would formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, drawing a furious rebuke from Israel.
- 'Mass starvation' -
More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza.
Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made".
Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later.
The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, replacing the longstanding UN-led distribution system.
Aid groups have refused to work with it, accusing it of aiding Israeli military goals.
The GHF system, in which Gazans have to travel long distances and join huge queues to reach one of four sites, has often proved deadly, with the UN saying that more than 750 Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed by Israeli forces near GHF centres since late May.
An AFP photographer saw bloodied patients, wounded while attempting to get humanitarian aid, being treated on the floor of Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis on Thursday.
Israel has refused to return to the UN-led system, saying that it allowed Hamas to hijack aid for its own benefit.
Accusing Israel of the "weaponisation of food", MSF said that: "Across screenings of children aged six months to five years old and pregnant and breastfeeding women, at MSF facilities last week, 25 per cent were malnourished."
It said malnutrition cases had quadrupled since May 18 at its Gaza City clinic and that the facility was enrolling 25 new patients every day.
Aid groups and medics have also warned that a lack of food is preventing the sick and wounded from recovering.
- 'High risk of dying' -
On Thursday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that one in five children in Gaza City were malnourished.
Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said: "Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need."
He also warned that "UNRWA frontline health workers, are surviving on one small meal a day, often just lentils, if at all".
Lazzarini said that the agency had "the equivalent of 6,000 loaded trucks of food and medical supplies" ready to send into Gaza if Israel allowed "unrestricted and uninterrupted" access to the territory.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,587 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
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News.com.au
34 minutes ago
- News.com.au
WHO says malnutrition reaching 'alarming levels' in Gaza
Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives. "Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July," the WHO said in a statement. Of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July -- including 24 children under five, one child aged over five, and 38 adults, it added. "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 UN health agency said. "The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives." Israel on Sunday began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. But the WHO called for sustained efforts to "flood" the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food, and for the expedited delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, plus essential medicines and supplies. "This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration", the Geneva-based agency said. On Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the situation "mass starvation -- and it's man-made". - 'Dangerous cycle' of death - Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, the WHO said Sunday, citing its Nutrition Cluster partners. It said the percentage of children aged six to 59 months suffering from acute malnutrition had tripled in the city since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Palestinian territory. "These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities," the WHO said. The WHO said that in the first two weeks of July, more than 5,000 children under five had been admitted for outpatient treatment of malnutrition -- 18 percent of them with the most life-threatening form, severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The 6,500 children admitted for malnutrition treatment in June was the highest number since the war began in October 2023. A further 73 children with SAM and medical complications have been hospitalised in July, up from 39 in June. "This surge in cases is overwhelming the only four specialised malnutrition treatment centres," the WHO said. Furthermore, the organisation said the breakdown of water and sanitation services was "driving a dangerous cycle of illness and death". As for pregnant and breastfeeding women, Nutrition Cluster screening data showed that more than 40 percent were severely malnourished, the WHO said. "It is not only hunger that is killing people, but also the desperate search for food," the UN health agency said. "Families are being forced to risk their lives for a handful of food, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions," it added. The UN rights office says Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May. Nearly three-quarters of them died near GHF sites.
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Israel announces pauses in Gaza to allow aid for hungry
Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population.
ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
Israel announces 'pause' to fighting in parts of Gaza as aid drops resume
Israel is halting the bombardment of densely populated parts of Gaza for 10 hours a day, as it yields to international pressure to let more aid into the war-ravaged strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the so-called "tactical pause" would be in place in areas around Deir al Balah, Gaza City, and the Mawasi camp. Until last week, Deir al Balah had been largely spared from Israeli strikes and shelling as it was believed to be the location where Hamas was holding Israeli hostages. There are 50 hostages held in Gaza, with 20 of them believed to still be alive. The population in Mawasi has surged in recent weeks, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Khan Younis and beyond were told to move to the coastal zone as displacement orders were expanded elsewhere in the strip, turning the area into a sea of tents. "This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organisations following discussions regarding the matter," the IDF said in a statement. The IDF "pauses" will run daily from 10am to 8pm "until further notice," it said. Israeli strikes elsewhere are expected to continue unchanged. Palestinian health authorities announced another five deaths from starvation late on Saturday, raising the death toll to 127 people, including 85 children. "A humanitarian truce is not a time for silence, but rather for saving those who remain alive," said the director general of Gaza's Ministry of Health, Dr Munir Al-Barsh, in a statement. "In light of a temporary truce stifled by international hesitation and silence, the wounded are crying out for help, children are starving, and mothers are collapsing over the ruins of what remains of life. "This truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives. "Every delay is measured by another funeral, and every silence means another child dying in its mother's arms without medicine or milk." Dr Al-Barsh said urgent medical evacuations were needed for patients requiring serious surgery and complex treatments, and the urgent entry of aid such as baby formula, nutritional supplements, and antibiotics. The development followed an announcement on Saturday night, local time, that the Israeli military would begin airdrops of aid into the strip. Seven pallets were dropped, carrying flour, sugar, and canned food. There are reports that as many as 11 Palestinians were injured as the pallets fell on their tents. The IDF also announced it would create "secure corridors" for the United Nations and aid agencies to pick up supplies sitting at the Gaza border and distribute them through the strip. A key criticism of Israel in recent weeks has been that it was too dangerous and difficult to collect the supplies, which are sitting on the Gaza side of the border, because of Israel's ongoing military activity. Israel has accused the UN of failing to do its job in taking the aid where it is needed. The humanitarian corridors will operate from 6am to 11pm daily. Philippe Lazarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA — the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees — called the airdrop announcement a "distraction". "Man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will," he said in a post on X. "Airdrops will not prevent aid diversion, principled humanitarian assistance will … Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper, and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza."
