Harrowing viral pic of starving Gaza boy ‘was HIJACKED' by Hamas to create ‘fake news', campaigners say
The picture of Muhammad al-Matouq in his mum's arms went viral last week - amid claims Israel was blocking aid deliveries to the Strip.
6
6
6
But campaigners say he was already suffering genetic disorders and his mum and brother looked healthy in the picture.
Pro-Israel investigative journalist David Collier said: "This is not the face of famine. It is the face of a medically vulnerable child whose tragic situation was hijacked and weaponised."
He accused news outlets who used the image of benefiting Hamas and creating "fake news".
On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 89 children.
Israel announced a 'tactical pause ' in fighting in three areas of Gaza yesterday amid worsening of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The Israeli Defence Force said it would halt operations in Muwasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City from 10am to 8pm.
It said it will set up corridors to help aid agencies deliver food and supplies.
Within hours, Jordanian and Emirati planes had air-dropped 25 tonnes of aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched - but this amount fell short of Gaza's needs.
WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, Samer AbdelJaber said: "Sixty is definitely not enough. So our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza."
Israel announces 'tactical pause' in fighting in parts of Gaza as IDF sets up 'designated humanitarian corridors'
The Programme explained how almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said only a ceasefire would alleviate the needs of those 'desperately suffering'.
And Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, said the latest aid drops would not solve food shortages in Gaza.
Last week, more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the Palestinian enclave.
The military also said Saturday that it had connected a power line to a desalination plant, expected to supply daily water needs for about 900,000 Gazan people.
Israel's foreign ministry said the military would "apply a 'humanitarian pause' in civilian centres and in humanitarian corridors" on Sunday morning.
The announcement came after indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas were broken off with no deal in sight.
The UN said that humanitarian pauses in Gaza would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance".
The Israeli military stressed that despite the humanitarian steps, "combat operations have not ceased" in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has previously blamed Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's population.
Israel is keeping up its heavy bombardment in the face of global ceasefire pleas and huge protests in Tel Aviv.
6
6
6
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Haunting image of skeletal girl, 9, shows Gaza's 'catastrophic' hunger crisis
WARNING UPSETTING: Nine-year-old Maryam Duvvas looks agonisingly thin while receiving treatment at a hospital in Gaza for severe malnutrition as the UN warns of "catastrophic hunger" in Palestine Desperately harrowing images continue to emerge from within the Gaza Strip as many children are alarmingly ill with hunger. A young Gazan girl has withered to skin and bone because of the food and water crisis gripping the Palestinian enclave. The haunting image shows nine-year-old Maryam Duvvas, who is now agonisingly thin as the UN warns of "catastrophic hunger" sweeping through Gaza. She is currently receiving treatment at Patient Friends Association Hospital in Gaza City and is in a critical condition with severe malnutrition. The war-battered Gaza Strip is on the brink of 'irreversible humanitarian collapse' it was claimed today as at least 41 Palestinians were killed since dawn. It comes after furious Bob Geldof issued a desperate plea on Sky News to save babies in Gaza. Gaza's health officials said there have been six new deaths of locals from starvation or malnutrition, including a child, bringing the starvation toll to 184, including 94 children. Aid workers say desperation is so severe that many residents risk approaching aid hubs despite fears of Israeli fire and being killed or wounded. A local aid worker told al-Jazeera:'People are exhausted, malnourished and still willing to risk their lives to find food for their families.' And an aid official reportedly claimed Gaza is 'spiraling into collapse' without a ceasefire, adding: 'The situation is beyond catastrophic.' Six hundred retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, have asked US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel into ending war in Gaza. They said in a statement: "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel. Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering.' At the weekend Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin told the Daily Mirror exclusively Trump is the only person who can force Netanyahu to end the war. Their appeal comes amid reports that Netanyahu is pushing to expand military operations in Gaza as indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas have stalled. Israel launched war in Gaza following Hamas's attack in southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken into Gaza as hostages. The territory is also experiencing mass deprivation as a result of heavy restrictions imposed by Israel on what is allowed into Gaza. And there are escalating fears thousands could die of hunger if the war is not brought to an end, allowing a major influx of aid to be distributed safely. UN-backed agencies have said the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza. The latest intervention by the top former Israeli officials came after harrowing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants. The Gaza Health Ministry said that since the war began, at least 60,839 Palestinians have been killed and 149,588 wounded. Hamas said it is open to the International Committee of the Red Cross delivering supplies to Israeli hostages if Israel opens 'humanitarian corridors' for Gaza's civilians. Around 50 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, including just 20 who are believed still to be alive.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Figures show majority of aid sent to Gaza is being intercepted
By Published: Updated: The majority of the aid sent to Gaza is being intercepted by armed militants and desperate civilians before it reaches its intended target, official figures show. Data from the UN shows that just 14 per cent of the pallets collected at the Gaza border arrived safely at their destination. The rest (86 per cent) were intercepted – 'either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors, during transit in Gaza', the UN said. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has previously accused armed militias of looting the aid convoys at gunpoint. Figures show that of the 29,885 aid pallets collected for delivery in Gaza between mid-May and last weekend, 25,703 were taken en route. It means only 4,182 pallets containing vital supplies intended for Gaza's desperately hungry inhabitants made it safely to the destination. The UN is unable to break down how much of the missing aid – equating to 23,353 tons in the last two and a half months – has been snatched by Hamas militants, or taken by some of the more than two million people living in Gaza's warzone. But the figures underline the gravity of the humanitarian crisis with both Hamas and Israel blaming each other. Charities operating in the disaster zone last night laid bare the extent to which Gaza's civilian population was struggling. Sarah Davies, who is based in Jerusalem for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said: 'Regardless of how many trucks enter Gaza, the critical issue is whether aid actually reaches the people who need it . 'Right now, that is not happening at the scale required. 'At the Red Cross Field Hospital, we are treating more patients showing signs of malnutrition, which delays recovery and particularly affects children's development and wellbeing. 'We are also facing challenges in replenishing basic medical items and consumables at the rate they are being used. Given the rising number of weapon-wounded patients, materials such as bandages, IV fluids, surgical gloves and other essentials are being depleted rapidly. 'We've seen a significant increase in the number of patients arriving after being wounded who tell us they were injured while attempting to access food at distribution points. Some tragically did not survive, or are declared dead on arrival. 'We have consistently emphasized that bringing aid into Gaza is only one part of the equation. The aid must be able to be moved safely and swiftly to reach vulnerable patients in hospitals, the elderly, children and pregnant women. That is not happening nearly enough today.' A spokesman for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its health facilities in the region had received 'hundreds of people wounded or killed while simply trying to find something to eat'. They said: 'Very little food is entering the Gaza Strip, nowhere near enough to feed two million people . 'The few boxes that do enter rarely make it to people in need. And those that manage to reach people in need are systematically accompanied by bloodbaths, either from the chaos of the situation itself, or because Israeli forces and US security contractors are shooting at crowds. 'Regardless of where and how this massive loss of life is happening, regardless of who is pulling the trigger , the conditions of desperation and suffering that we are witnessing first-hand in Gaza have been engineered by Israeli authorities against its obligations as occupying power, which include the obligation to ensure humanitarian action is protected. 'We need aid to be allowed in, at scale, with guarantees that convoys will reach people in need safely, and we need a full return to the UN-led independent humanitarian mechanism.' At least 175 people – including 93 children – have now died from starvation in Gaza since the war began following the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023 , according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.
Powys County Times
4 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Dozens killed as Palestinians in Gaza scramble for aid from air and land
Dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded on Monday as desperate crowds headed toward food distribution points and airdropped parcels in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and local health officials. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide towards famine nearly 22 months into the war with Hamas. Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient. Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, but blame Hamas. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll. As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza. The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate. In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods. On Monday, Palestinians cheered as pallets of aid were parachuted over Zuweida in central Gaza. Associated Press footage showed a desperate scramble when the parcels hit the ground, with hundreds of people racing toward them. Fistfights broke out and some men wielded batons. 'I wish they would deliver it through the (land) crossings,' Rabah Rabah said earlier as he waited for the airdrop. 'This is inhuman.' At least one parcel fell on a tent where displaced people had been sheltering, injuring a man who was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known. At least 16 people were killed late on Sunday near the Israeli-controlled Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for aid to northern Gaza, according to records at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which showed that more than 130 people were wounded. The circumstances were not immediately clear, but the crossing has seen several shootings in recent days that witnesses and health officials blamed on Israeli forces. There was no immediate comment from the military. At least 10 people were killed as thousands waited for aid trucks in the Morag Corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. Mohammed al-Masri, who was among the crowds, said Israeli forces opened fire when a group of young men tried to make their way to the front. 'The occupation forces shot many people in the head and in the back,' he said, adding that he saw four wounded people, one motionless on the ground. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 10 bodies from Morag and another five who were killed near an aid site in southern Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. It said a new UN route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys. GHF says its contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots on a few occasions to prevent deadly crowding since it opened four sites in May.
