Dr. Sanjay Gupta details life-threatening hunger in Gaza
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Israel pauses some military action in Gaza as starvation spreads: what to know
Israel will pause military action for hours each day in parts of Gaza and increase aid drops in the enclave, as the country has faced major international criticism over reports and images of starving Palestinians. Aid groups have criticized Israeli leaders for months over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The country cut off supplies to the region at the start of March before reopening aid lines – with new restrictions – in May. "A third of the population (in Gaza) is not eating for days," the World Food Programme, led by Cindy McCain, said in a statement on X. "Some 470,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions. 90,000 women and children need urgent nutrition treatment. People are dying due to a lack of humanitarian assistance." More than 125 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said over the weekend. A five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on July 26. In recent weeks, more than 800 people have been killed while trying to reach food, according to the United Nations, mostly in shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centers. Israeli officials have said they've allowed enough food into Gaza since war broke out in October 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, blaming the terrorist group for suffering in a region of 2.2 million people. Meanwhile, ceasefire talks have stalled, with no permanent end to the fighting in sight. Here's what to know about the growing humanitarian crisis. What's going on in Gaza? Beginning July 27, Israel will pause military action in a humanitarian area along the coast of Gaza for 10 hours at a time, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, each day. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Tom Fletcher, aid chief for the United Nations, called the move a "welcome announcement" in a post on X. "In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," Fletcher wrote. What do human rights groups say? The U.N.'s World Food Program also welcomed the news, saying in a statement, "we hope these measures will allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays." Israel's move comes after 111 groups signed a joint statement calling for governments to take action, as mass starvation spread and restrictions on humanitarian aid prevented resources from reaching Palestinians in Gaza. "The Government of Israel's restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death," the groups, made up of mostly aid and human rights organizations, wrote. Why was aid restricted before? Hunger in Gaza escalated after Israel cut off supplies in March. Israel had said it was committed to allowing in aid – but needed to control it to prevent it from being diverted by Hamas. The country also accused the U.N. of failing to act in a timely fashion, saying 700 truckloads of aid were idling inside Gaza. "Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organizations," the Israeli military said in a July 26 statement. "Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas." An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reported last week. Where are ceasefire talks? President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on July 25 to abandon ceasefire negotiations, saying it was clear Hamas did not want a deal. "I think they want to die," Trump said of the militants. "And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job." Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to reach a deal, saying the only real solution to the suffering in Gaza is a complete end to the fighting. "An agreed ceasefire is the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner," the U.N. World Food Program said in their statement. Contributing: Reuters
CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Israel begins "tactical pause" in parts of Gaza to open aid corridors as concerns over hunger mount
The Israeli military began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day as part of a series of steps that it says would give the United Nations and other aid agencies secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Israel Defense Forces said it would begin a "tactical pause" in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid" entering the Gaza Strip. It said the pause would begin every day at 10 a.m. local time, effective Sunday, and continue until further notice. The military early Sunday carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food, "as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip," the IDF posted on Telegram. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including from close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. The United Nations' food agency welcomed the steps to ease aid restrictions, but said a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza. "Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through," U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X. "In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window." The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that hospitals recorded six new deaths due to malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including two children. The organization said at least 133 people, including 87 children, have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip. Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Ahead of the pause, Palestinian health officials in Gaza said at least 27 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks. "This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives," said Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, who called for a flood of medical supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition. "Every delay is measured by another funeral." Trucks loaded with aid from Egypt and Jordan are headed for Gaza amid Israel's "tactical pause." The Egyptian Red Crescent dispatched more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 tons of food supplies, including 840 tons of flour and 450 tons of assorted food baskets, toward the Kerem Shalom crossing. Photographers in Gaza captured the first images of trucks carrying aid entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing in Rafah, Egypt. Jordan's security agency posted a video on social media purportedly showing a line of aid-loaded trucks moving toward Gaza. The UN's World Food Program said it welcomes Israel's move and that it has enough food to feed the entire population of 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza for nearly three months. In a statement, it said that a third of Gaza's population were not eating for days and nearly half a million were enduring famine-like conditions. It said it hopes that Israel's assurances for secure corridors will "allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays." However, the WFP reiterated that a ceasefire is "the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner." Israel's decision to order a localized pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering "alternative options" to ceasefire talks with the militant group. Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused to agree to. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said that Israel's change of tack on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement that there were starving Palestinians in Gaza and that the move was meant to improve its international standing and not save lives. He said that Israel "will not escape punishment and will inevitably pay the price for these criminal practices." The Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 11 people and wounded 101 as they were headed toward a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution site in central Gaza. GHF, which denies involvement in any of the violence near its sites, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The military said it was looking into the report. Elsewhere, a strike hit a tent sheltering a displaced family in the Asdaa area, northwest of the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least nine people, according to Nasser Hospital. The dead included a father and his two children, and another father and his son, the hospital said. In Gaza City, a strike hit an apartment late Saturday in the city's western side, killing four people, including two women, said the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service. In Deir-al-Balah early Sunday, a strike on a tent near a desalination plant killed a couple and another woman, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. However, it usually blames Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Palestinian militant group operates in populated areas. The military announced Sunday that another two soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since Oct. 7, 2023, to 898. The war began with Hamas' October 2023 attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. The Israeli military has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Sunday. The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military "violently intercepted" the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication, just before midnight Saturday. "All cargo was non-military, civilian and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel's illegal blockade,'' the group said in a statement. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X early Sunday that the Navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore. It was the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza, where food experts have for months warned of the risk of famine. Activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when the Israeli military seized it in June.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Israeli Startups Using AI To Accelerate Drug Discovery
AI Aiding in drug discovery Israel-based AION Labs wants to drive AI to revolutionize pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. AION is an innovative venture that brings together pharmaceutical heavyweights—Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Teva, and Merck—with entrepreneurial scientists, technology leaders, and successful investors. 'We are a venture studio that builds startups using computational technologies and artificial intelligence to unleash new capabilities to discover and develop new drugs with a venture model that we invented,' says Mati Gill, CEO of AION. This unique collaboration addresses a costly endeavor that is crucial to the quality of our lives. It takes $5 billion and ten years to bring a new drug to market. The world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies collectively spent $145 billion on R&D in 2022-23, according to a recent Deloitte report, which also noted 'AI is yet to become a 'game-changer' in pharma R&D.' A more comprehensive survey of 4,191 pharmaceutical companies worldwide, published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, found that they spent $276 billion on R&D in 2021. These R&D expenses have increased tenfold since the 1980s (after adjusting for inflation), and pharmaceutical companies now allocate approximately 25% of their revenue to R&D, nearly double the share seen in the early 2000s, according to CB Insights. 'AI could potentially cut years off the discovery process and compress clinical trial times by up to 30%. This would accelerate the delivery of new treatments to patients, unlock novel treatment approaches, and enable more personalized medicine,' noted CBI. Another CBI report, on the AI readiness of pharmaceutical companies, highlighted the importance of external collaboration, 'as breakthrough innovations increasingly emerge from partnerships rather than internal development alone.' Gill predicts that by 2030, the first truly AI-designed drugs will reach regulatory approval. He believes that Israel is uniquely positioned to be a leading ecosystem in transforming the global biotech and pharmaceutical landscape, given its strengths in multidisciplinary scientific discovery, entrepreneurial innovation, computational biology and big data analysis, as well as a robust and integrated healthcare system, and strong government support. 'For the first time, Israel's strengths are coinciding with what the future of the industry is going to be,' says Gill. There are three core principles behind every startup that AION selects and supports, explains Gill: they address a validated, well-defined, industry-wide problem statement; there's a multidisciplinary team that has expertise in both AI and biology and a technology that can solve that problem statement; and that at least one of AION' pharmaceutical partners is willing to commit to working with the startup to initially develop their technology and conduct with them a proof-of-concept at an early stage. The R&D teams of AION Labs' partners help select the specific industry-wide challenges to focus on and the technologies and scientist-led startups that will develop the solutions. To accomplish that, AION has established two tracks, one starting with the problem statement and the other starting with the technology. DenovAI is an example of starting with the problem statement. Is it possible to design proteins 'de novo' or completely from scratch? 'We ran a challenge and had 15 great candidates,' recounts Gill. 'We selected a senior scientist who had developed a technology called AlphaDesign that is basically doing the inverse of the famous AlphaFold.' The startup recently demonstrated its ability to generate new proteins with measurable, targeted function. Its AI-based platform for rapid de novo antibody discovery could reduce the discovery process from months to days, and broaden the scope of therapy to a wide range of diseases. Cassidy Bio is an example of starting with the technology. It is using large language models or LLMs to design new guide RNAs, unlocking the capability of gene therapy in a scalable and precise manner. Guide RNAs or gRNAs serve as the 'GPS' for CRISPR systems, directing the editing machinery to precise genetic targets. The design of gRNAs plays a critical role in determining both the efficacy and safety of gene-editing therapeutics. Professor Ayal Hendel of Israel's Bar-Ilan University, a leading expert in genome editing and gene therapy, teamed up with two experienced entrepreneurs to establish the startup. With AION Labs' help, they raised $8 million in seed funding and are working with AstraZeneca to validate their technology. Based on proprietary, clinically relevant genomic data generation, state-of-the-art predictive algorithms, and rigorous wet lab validation, Cassidy Bio is developing the first comprehensive predictive platform based on LLMs for gRNA design. Unlike the data driving AI consumer applications, which is mostly based on internet-scraped data, pharmaceutical data is proprietary data. AION Labs' unique collaborative model provides access to pharmaceutical firms' R&D teams and their data, along with a secure sharing environment facilitated by AION's tech partner, Amazon's cloud service. This means the pharmaceutical companies can share their proprietary data with the startups in AION Labs' portfolio, but not with each other. AION Labs is also a member of Israel's 8400 The Health Network. This network was founded in 2017 on the premise that HealthTech is Israel's next economic growth engine and that Israel has what it takes to become a game-changing player in the global HealthTech revolution, according to its CEO, Ari Strasberg. To date, the non-profit organization has developed numerous programs and national initiatives, ranging from HealthIL, which bridges the gap between healthcare systems and technology by facilitating over 1,300 pilots and implementing 160 projects, to Helix, which strengthens the working relationships between 46 top U.S. and Israeli HealthTech leaders. The organization has been very successful, says Strasberg, in creating a public-private partnership, connecting government programs with 'the needs of the ecosystem.' Another success story is the development of FIRE, the data interoperability standard used by the healthcare systems in Israel. Going forward, Strasberg would like 8400 to play a major role in increasing the number of very successful Israeli HealthTech startups. 'We have a few, but not enough,' says Strasberg. 'We need to have a few blockbuster ones that carry the entire ecosystem with them.'
