Gaza faces starvation as over 100 aid groups urge Israel to lift blockade
Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.'CHAOS, STARVATION AND DEATH'In an open letter, 115 organisations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away.'The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and 'massacres' at aid-distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.The Israeli government's 'restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,' the letter said.WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed that criticism, telling reporters that acute malnutrition centers in Gaza are full of patients and lack adequate supplies. He said rates of acute malnutrition exceed 10% and that among pregnant and breastfeeding women, more than 20% are malnourished, often severely.The UN health agency's representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, said there were more than 30,000 children under 5 with acute malnutrition in Gaza and that the WHO had reports that at least 21 children under 5 have died so far this year.ISRAEL SAYS CRITICS ARE ECHOING HAMAS PROPAGANDAadvertisementThe Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism in the open letter and accused the groups of 'echoing Hamas' propaganda.' It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 trucks are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the UN.That's an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.The UN says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting and a breakdown of law and order. An alternative system established by Israel and an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.TOP ADVISER TO NETANYAHU WILL MEET US ENVOY IN ROME White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff was headed to Europe to meet with key leaders from the Middle East to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal and release of hostages.'We want this ceasefire to happen as soon as possible, and we want these hostages to be released,' Leavitt said.advertisementAn official familiar with the negotiations said Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was traveling to Rome to meet Witkoff on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations.The evolving deal is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.OVERNIGHT STRIKE KILL AT LEAST 29 Israel has continued to carry out waves of daily airstrikes against what it says are militant targets, which often kill women and children. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.One of the overnight strikes hit a house in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included six children and two women, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant, and that the incident was under review because of reports of civilian casualties.advertisementShifa said another strike late Tuesday in Gaza City killed three children.A strike on an apartment in northern Gaza killed at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant, the ministry said. The military said it struck a Hamas operative.In central Gaza, a strike in a densely populated part of the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed eight people and wounded 57, according to Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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New Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Israeli strikes kill at least 34 people in Gaza, a day after aid restrictions are eased
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes killed at least 34 Palestinians in multiple locations across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said, a day after Israel eased aid restrictions in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. Israel announced Sunday that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day until further notice to allow for the improved flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where concern over hunger has grown, and designate secure routes for aid delivery. Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures. The Israeli military had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the time frame for the pause Israel declared would be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
The hunger crisis in Gaza: ‘Efforts not enough to counter current starvation'
As the growing hunger crisis in Gaza gained global attention over the past week, the Israeli military on Sunday began limited pause in fighting in three of the city's populated areas for ten hours per day in order to allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory. The military announced the 'tactical pause' would remain in place between 10 am to 8 pm in densely populated areas, including Gaza City, Deir Al-Balah, and Muwasi, even as combat operations continued in the territory. This comes after Gaza's two million people faced a near-total blockade on food, water, medicine, and electricity, leading to starvation, sickness, and deaths. Border closures and continuous airstrikes have, moreover, left shelves empty, hospitals overwhelmed, and families struggling to survive. Israeli strikes have killed at least 41 Palestinians between late Saturday and Sunday, including 26 of them while seeking aid, according to Gaza health officials. Amid Israel's scale-up of aid, UN officials and aid workers warned that the measures fall far short of the much-needed ceasefire and unfettered aid access that could help stem the spiralling humanitarian catastrophe, as per UN News. 'Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,' UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher shared on X. 'This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis,' he added. According to the UN, one in three people in Gaza hasn't eaten for days. What does the 'tactical pause' entail? Within the so-called 'tactical pause' announced by Israel late Saturday, its military began to airdrop aid into the Gaza Strip. The move came amid increased international pressure and increasing incidents of starvation-related deaths in Gaza. The aid included seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food, the Israel Defence Forces stated over a Telegram post on Sunday. The Israeli military also said on Saturday that it would establish humanitarian corridors for United Nations convoys, however, it refrained from providing further details. The statement also emphasised 'that combat operations have not ceased' in Gaza against Hamas. It reiterated the IDF's position that there is 'no starvation' in the territory, as quoted by CBS News. Following the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said, 'Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies.' On Saturday, Israel said that over 250 trucks carrying aid from the UN and other organizations entered Gaza this week. However, this is comparatively way less than the 600 trucks which entered Gaza per day when the ceasefire was in place until March 2025, CBS News stated. The hunger crisis in Gaza About 470,000 people are facing catastrophic hunger in Gaza, with 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, who are in desperate need of treatment. The WHO has warned malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza with rates on a 'dangerous trajectory' after aid air drops resumed to the Strip, BBC News reported. BBC also quoted the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry data which stated at least 133 people have died from malnutrition since the war began. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also denounced global inaction, calling the suffering in Gaza a 'moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.' 'We will continue to speak out. But words don't feed hungry children,' he wrote over a post on X. 'The @UN stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale up humanitarian operations,' he added in his post last week. US President Donald Trump too on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza 'terrible.' On July 23, more than 100 organisations, including Oxfam, sounded an alarm, urging governments to act: 'open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a ceasefire now,' a release by Oxfam International stated. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also sounded the alarm, reporting that one in four children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its Gaza clinics were malnourished. 'Rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone,' MSF said, blaming what it described as Israel's 'policy of starvation'. Even before the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that began from January 19 and lasted till March 18, there were famine-like conditions in pockets of Gaza as the amount of aid that was allowed to enter was pitiful compared to the needs. The ceasefire allowed international organisations and NGOs to scale up aid to the minimum required level, which helped stave off hunger in the initial days. However, when the ceasefire collapsed and aid blockade began in March, the situation worsened, and continues to be projected as 'serious' and 'critical', as per the assessment of the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which came out on the 12th that month. Aid blockade: Beginning and end The food crisis in Gaza intensified early March this year, when Israel completely cut off supplies of food, medicine, fuel, among others to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, demanding Palestinian militant group Hamas to release all the remaining hostages. Currently, fifty of them remain in Gaza, with over half of them believed to be dead, as per an AP report. Israel had restricted the entry of aid to Gaza claiming Hamas of siphoning it off to bolster its rule, however, it did not provide any evidence for the same, AP noted in its report. The March aid blockade, which continued for two-and-a-half months began to push Gazans towards prolonged food shortages, illness, and death, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO). Amid international pressure, Israel lifted the 11-week blockade in May, however, allowed only limited deliveries by the United Nations (UN) to resume. Since then, Israel has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups to distribute, including 2,500 tons of baby food and high-calorie special food for children, Israel's Foreign Ministry stated last week. Meanwhile, the UN said that since then, the average of 69 trucks entering the Strip per day has been far below the 500 to 600 trucks, which is ideally needed. The UN also said it has been unable to distribute much aid because hunger-stricken crowds pick most of it from the trucks, AP quoted. Role of US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation A private humanitarian organisation backed by the United States and Israel was tasked with distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza soon after the aid blockade ended in May. 'We plan to scale rapidly to serve the full population in the weeks ahead,' the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had then said in a statement after its director resigned, citing the organisation's lack of independence. The UN called the GHF as a 'controversial' aid operation, with Guterres terming it as 'inherently unsafe.' 'It is killing people,' he had said. UN officials and Gaza-based doctors reported the killing of over 400 Palestinians as they tried to reach the four designated aid sites run by GHF. The GHF rejected these numbers and said it was doing what other organisations could not, that is, delivering aid without it being looted or seized by Hamas. Israel supported the foundation as 'a mechanism to provide secure aid,' insisting its military did not 'deliberately target civilians collecting food,' as per a report in The Indian Express. Even though Israel stands firm in its allegation that the UN system allows Hamas to steal aid, the global body has denied the same. In a letter sent to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a group of Democratic senators Sunday expressed 'grave' concerns about 'the US role in and financial support for the troubled GHF,' urging the Trump administration to suspend American financial support for it, CBS News reported. 'We urge you to immediately cease all US funding for GHF and resume support for the existing UN-led aid coordination mechanisms with enhanced oversight to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in need,' the letter read. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also told CBS on 'Face the Nation' that Gaza is on the 'brink of food catastrophe' and that France expected 'the Israeli government to stop the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has caused [a] bloodbath in humanitarian health distribution lines in Gaza.' Killed while seeking aid Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May this year while trying to get food, mostly near those sites, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said. According to a report by the AP, Awda Hospital in Nuseirat claimed Israeli forces recently killed at least 13 people, including four children and a woman, and wounded 101 as they headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza. To this claim, Israel's military said it fired warning shots to prevent a 'gathering of suspects' from approaching, hundreds of meters from the site before opening hours. GHF also asserted there were no such incidents at or near its sites, as per the report. Thirteen others were killed seeking aid elsewhere, including northwestern Gaza City, where more than 50 people were wounded, and near the Zikim crossing where over 90 were wounded, hospital officials and medics told AP. 'Not enough to counter current starvation' Israel's military late last week said about 28 aid packages containing food were airdropped, adding it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery, AP reported. It also said the steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. Meanwhile, the UN World Food Program stated that it had enough food in, or on its way, to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months, highlighting that nearly half a million people were enduring 'famine-like conditions'. Antoine Renard, WFP's country director for the occupied Palestinian territories, said around 80 WFP trucks entered Gaza, while another over 130 trucks arrived via Jordan, Ashdod and Egypt. He said other aid was moving through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, AP report quoted. However, he stressed it was not enough to counter the 'current starvation.' In the month of July alone, Gaza saw 63 malnutrition-related deaths, which included 24 children under the age of five, as per WHO data. Israeli forces also forcibly displaced nearly two million Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on July 20, UN highlighted. Amid the rising cases, Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, Gaza Health Ministry's director-general, called for medical supplies to treat child malnutrition. 'This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives,' he told AP. 'Every delay is measured by another funeral.' Death toll and ceasefire talks Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas began its attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages, more than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to latest numbers released by Gaza's Health Ministry. Over half of those dead are women and children, AP reported quoting the ministry. Ceasefire efforts, meanwhile, continue to remain failed. Israel and the US recalled negotiating teams from Qatar last Thursday, blaming Hamas, where Israel said it was considering 'alternative options' to talks. Israel also said it was prepared to end the war if Hamas surrendered, disarmed and went into exile, which the latter refused. Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas' negotiating delegation, said the group had displayed 'maximum flexibility.' Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi also said Israel's change of approach on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement of Palestinians starving in Gaza, and asserted that it was meant to improve Israel's international standing and not save lives, as quoted in the AP report. Support from other countries in delivering aid Amid global condemnation of Israel's aid blockade in Gaza, leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany have called for lifting all the restrictions on aid and urged the countries in conflict to consider an immediate ceasefire. UK prime minister Keir Starmer, speaking to French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz on Saturday, said that his government will be 'taking forward' plans to airdrop aid into Gaza, in collaboration with Jordan, and evacuate children who need medical assistance to the UK for treatment, according to a BBC report. According to a spokesperson quoted by The Guardian, the three leaders agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace.' 'They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan, building on their collaboration to date, which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region.' Moreover, as Israel agreed to let Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) airdrop aid into Gaza, the UAE's foreign minister on Saturday said the country would resume aid drops over Gaza 'immediately' citing the 'critical' humanitarian situation, as per the report. Jordan and the UAE said it delivered '25 tonnes of food aid and essential humanitarian supplies' by aid air drops, BBC News reported. 'The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level,' Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. 'We will ensure essential aid reaches those most in need, whether through land, air or sea. Air drops are resuming once more, immediately.' Besides these countries, Egypt also delivered aid into Gaza by land and air.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Covid And Other Infections Leave Lasting Impact: Chronic Fatigue, Brain Fog
Stellenbosch: Millions of people who recover from infections like COVID-19, influenza and glandular fever are affected by long-lasting symptoms. These include chronic fatigue, brain fog, exercise intolerance, dizziness, muscle or joint pain and gut problems. And many of these symptoms worsen after exercise, a phenomenon known as post-exertional malaise. Medically the symptoms are known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The World Health Organization classifies this as a post viral fatigue syndrome, and it is recognised by both the WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a brain disorder. Experiencing illness long after contracting an infection is not new, as patients have reported these symptoms for decades. But COVID-19 has amplified the problem worldwide. Nearly half of people with ongoing post-COVID symptoms - a condition known as long-COVID - now meet the criteria for ME/CFS. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, it is estimated that more than 400 million people have developed long-COVID. To date, no widely accepted and testable mechanism has fully explained the biological processes underlying long-COVID and ME/CFS. Our work offers a new perspective that may help close this gap. Our research group studies blood and the cardiovascular system in inflammatory diseases, as well as post-viral conditions. We focus on coagulation, inflammation and endothelial cells. Endothelial cells make up the inner layer of blood vessels and serve many important functions, like regulating blood clotting, blood vessel dilation and constriction, and inflammation. Our latest review aims to explain how ME/CFS and long-COVID start and progress, and how symptoms show up in the body and its systems. By pinpointing and explaining the underlying disease mechanisms, we can pave the way for better clinical tools to diagnose and treat people living with ME/CFS and long-COVID. What is endothelial senescence? In our review, our international team proposes that certain viruses drive endothelial cells into a half-alive, "zombie-like" state called cellular senescence. Senescent endothelial cells stop dividing, but continue to release molecules that awaken and confuse the immune system. This prompts the blood to form clots and, at the same time, prevent clot breakdown, which could lead to the constriction of blood vessels and limited blood flow. By placing "zombie" blood-vessel cells at the centre of these post-viral diseases, our hypothesis weaves together microclots, oxygen debt (the extra oxygen your body needs after strenuous exercise to restore balance), brain-fog, dizziness, gut leakiness (a digestive condition where the intestinal lining allows toxins into the bloodstream) and immune dysfunction into a single, testable narrative. From acute viral infection to 'zombie' vessels Viruses like SARS-CoV-2, Epstein-Barr virus, HHV-6, influenza A, and enteroviruses (a group of viruses that cause a number of infectious illnesses which are usually mild) can all infect endothelial cells. They enable a direct attack on the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. Some of these viruses have been shown to trigger endothelial senescence. Multiple studies show that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19 disease) has the ability to induce senescence in a variety of cell types, including endothelial cells. Viral proteins from SARS-CoV-2, for example, sabotage DNA-repair pathways and push the host cell towards a senescent state, while senescent cells in turn become even more susceptible to viral entry. This reciprocity helps explain why different pathogens can result in the same chronic illness. Influenza A, too, has shown the ability to drive endothelial cells into a senescent, zombie-like state. What we think is happening We propose that when blood-vessel cells turn into "zombies", they pump out substances that make blood thicker and prone to forming tiny clots. These clots slow down circulation, so less oxygen reaches muscles and organs. This is one reason people feel drained. During exercise, the problem worsens. Instead of the vessels relaxing to allow adequate bloodflow, they tighten further. This means that muscles are starved of oxygen and patients experience a crash the day after exercise. In the brain, the same faulty cells let blood flow drop and leak, bringing on brain fog and dizziness. In the gut, they weaken the lining, allowing bits of bacteria to slip into the bloodstream and trigger more inflammation. Because blood vessels reach every corner of the body, even scattered patches of these "zombie" cells found in the blood vessels can create the mix of symptoms seen in long-COVID and ME/CFS. Immune exhaustion locks in the damage Some parts of the immune system kill senescent cells. They are natural-killer cells, macrophages and complement proteins, which are immune molecules capable of tagging and killing pathogens. But long-COVID and ME/CFS frequently have impaired natural-killer cell function, sluggish macrophages and complement dysfunction. Senescent endothelial cells may also send out a chemical signal to repel immune attack. So the "zombie cells" actively evade the immune system. This creates a self-sustaining loop of vascular and immune dysfunction, where senescent endothelial cells persist. In a healthy person with an optimally functioning immune system, these senescent endothelial cells will normally be cleared. But there is significant immune dysfunction in ME/CFS and long-COVID, and this may enable the "zombie cells" to survive and the disease to progress. Where the research goes next There is a registered clinical trial in the US that is investigating senescence in long-COVID. Our consortium is testing new ways to spot signs of ageing in the cells that line our blood vessels. First, we expose healthy endothelial cells in the lab to blood from patients to see whether it pushes the cells into a senescent, or "zombie," state. At the same time, we are trialling non invasive imaging and fluorescent probes that could one day reveal these ageing cells inside the body. In selected cases, tissue biopsies may later confirm what the scans show. Together, these approaches aim to pinpoint how substances circulating in the blood drive cellular ageing and how that, in turn, fuels disease. Our aim is simple: find these ageing endothelial cells in real patients. Pinpointing them will inform the next round of clinical trials and open the door to therapies that target senescent cells directly, offering a route to healthier blood vessels and, ultimately, lighter disease loads. (Author: Burtram C. Fielding, Dean Faculty of Sciences and Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University; Etheresia Pretorius, Distinguished Professor in Physiological Sciences, Stellenbosch University, and Massimo Nunes, Postdoctoral Research Fellow , Stellenbosch University (Disclaimer Statement: Burtram C. Fielding works for Stellenbosch University. He has received funding from the National Research Foundation, South Africa and the Technology Innovation Agency. Resia Pretorius is a Distinguished Research Professor at Stellenbosch University and receives funding from Balvi Research Foundation and Kanro Research Foundation. She is also affiliated with University of Liverpool as a Honorary Professor. Resia is a founding director of the Stellenbosch University start-up company, Biocode Technologies and has various patents related to microclot formation in Long COVID. Massimo Nunes receives funding from Kanro Research Foundation.)
