Fifteen die of starvation in Gaza Strip, medics say
The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said.
"You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew.
Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023.
For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger.
The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks.
Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food.
Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community.
It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants.
The fighters deny stealing it.
More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation.
The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show".
"We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"That system is being denied the conditions to function."
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving.
"Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters.
"Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said.
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation.
On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses.
"We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war.
The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population.
"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry.
Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women.
Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.
Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.
The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said.
"You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew.
Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023.
For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger.
The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks.
Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food.
Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community.
It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants.
The fighters deny stealing it.
More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation.
The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show".
"We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"That system is being denied the conditions to function."
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving.
"Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters.
"Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said.
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation.
On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses.
"We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war.
The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population.
"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry.
Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women.
Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.
Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.
The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said.
"You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew.
Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023.
For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger.
The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks.
Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food.
Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community.
It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants.
The fighters deny stealing it.
More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation.
The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show".
"We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"That system is being denied the conditions to function."
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving.
"Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters.
"Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said.
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation.
On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses.
"We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war.
The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population.
"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry.
Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women.
Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.
Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.
The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said.
"You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew.
Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023.
For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger.
The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks.
Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food.
Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community.
It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants.
The fighters deny stealing it.
More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation.
The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show".
"We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"That system is being denied the conditions to function."
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving.
"Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters.
"Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said.
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation.
On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses.
"We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war.
The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population.
"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry.
Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women.
Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.
Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Australia called to lift on global health as US yields
Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. That's the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats. The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance. About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research. The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said. "Despite commendable efforts, Australia's investment in global health research lags behind its international peers," it said. "Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded." Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out. "What we're saying is equity is not optional for global health," Dr Lo told AAP. Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region. But the country's level of foreign aid has been been in "significant decline" since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years. The multilateral aid landscape is "under pressure" after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said. It comes after US President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide. Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities "in the lurch". "It's never good to have one group, whether it's a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly," she said. "Because when they pull out, this is what happens." The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle. "As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region," the Burnet Institute chief executive said. Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. That's the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats. The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance. About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research. The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said. "Despite commendable efforts, Australia's investment in global health research lags behind its international peers," it said. "Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded." Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out. "What we're saying is equity is not optional for global health," Dr Lo told AAP. Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region. But the country's level of foreign aid has been been in "significant decline" since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years. The multilateral aid landscape is "under pressure" after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said. It comes after US President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide. Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities "in the lurch". "It's never good to have one group, whether it's a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly," she said. "Because when they pull out, this is what happens." The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle. "As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region," the Burnet Institute chief executive said. Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. That's the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats. The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance. About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research. The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said. "Despite commendable efforts, Australia's investment in global health research lags behind its international peers," it said. "Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded." Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out. "What we're saying is equity is not optional for global health," Dr Lo told AAP. Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region. But the country's level of foreign aid has been been in "significant decline" since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years. The multilateral aid landscape is "under pressure" after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said. It comes after US President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide. Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities "in the lurch". "It's never good to have one group, whether it's a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly," she said. "Because when they pull out, this is what happens." The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle. "As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region," the Burnet Institute chief executive said. Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. That's the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats. The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance. About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research. The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said. "Despite commendable efforts, Australia's investment in global health research lags behind its international peers," it said. "Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded." Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out. "What we're saying is equity is not optional for global health," Dr Lo told AAP. Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region. But the country's level of foreign aid has been been in "significant decline" since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years. The multilateral aid landscape is "under pressure" after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said. It comes after US President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide. Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities "in the lurch". "It's never good to have one group, whether it's a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly," she said. "Because when they pull out, this is what happens." The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle. "As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region," the Burnet Institute chief executive said.
SBS Australia
5 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Israel announces daily pauses in military bombardment of Gaza as aid airdrops begin
Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world. Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight. US President Donald Trump, on a visit to Scotland, said Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, and he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in 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 starting from Sunday. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the fighting. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said on X. In their first airdrop in months, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into Gaza on Sunday local time, a Jordanian official said, adding that those were not a substitute for delivery by land. Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes. Work on a UAE project to run a new pipeline that will supply water from a desalination facility in neighbouring Egypt to around 600,000 Palestinians along the coast would also begin in a few days, the Israeli military said. Dozens of Palestinians have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger since 2023 to 133, including 87 children. On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital, health workers said. "Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead," said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, as the baby's father held their daughter's body wrapped in a white shroud. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday. Some had been looted in the area of Khan Younis after entering Gaza, residents said. Naima Abu Ful holds her malnourished 2-year-old child, Yazan, at their home in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. Source: AP / Jehad Alshrafi Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased. A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week said Israel's denial of aid was unacceptable. The military's spokesperson said Israel was committed to international law and monitors the humanitarian situation daily. Brigadier General Effie Defrin claimed there was no starvation in Gaza, but appeared to acknowledge conditions were critical. Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds and reopened it with new restrictions in May. Many Palestinians expressed some relief at Sunday's announcement, but said fighting must end. "People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza," said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. "We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up." Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in central Gaza said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people waiting for aid trucks. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at suspects endangering troops and was unaware of any casualties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whether it is fighting or negotiating a ceasefire and vowed to press on with the campaign until "complete victory". Hamas said Israel was continuing its military offensive. "What is happening isn't a humanitarian truce," said Hamas official Ali Baraka.
West Australian
6 hours ago
- West Australian
Australia called to lift on global health as US yields
Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. That's the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats. The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance. About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research. The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said. "Despite commendable efforts, Australia's investment in global health research lags behind its international peers," it said. "Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded." Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out. "What we're saying is equity is not optional for global health," Dr Lo told AAP. Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region. But the country's level of foreign aid has been been in "significant decline" since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years. The multilateral aid landscape is "under pressure" after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said. It comes after US President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide. Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities "in the lurch". "It's never good to have one group, whether it's a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly," she said. "Because when they pull out, this is what happens." The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle. "As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region," the Burnet Institute chief executive said.
