Hunger or disease? What's the truth behind the viral image of starving child from Gaza?

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4 days ago

The heartbreaking image of a crying Gazan child, with his spine protruding from his skin, in his mother's arms is hard to miss. It has become a symbol of the starvation and hunger crisis unfolding in the enclave. However, is there more to this visual than meets the eye? Are we unaware of the condition of 18-month-old Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq? read more
Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her sick 18-month-old son Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, who is displaying signs of malnutrition, inside their tent at the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. This image has become symbolic of a famine in Gaza. AFP
When you think of the hunger crisis in Gaza, there's one image that comes to mind. It's of a woman cradling her crying baby boy while one can see his sharp spine — so defined, it might poke though his thin skin.
In fact, this viral image, which appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world and was used by broadcasters including the BBC, CNN and Sky, has now come to become the symbol of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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However, it seems that this image isn't depicting the whole image. In fact, it's become the centre of an information war, with a pro-Israel media outlet claiming that the boy in the image suffers from genetic and other disorders, which has lend to his pitiable condition.
So, what's going on?
Tale of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq
Amid the ongoing food crisis in Gaza as a result of Israel reportedly blocking aid, an image appeared of a tiny child in his mother's arms, with the gauntest of bodies. The image of this boy was taken by Ahmed al-Arini and distributed by Anadolu Agency, the Turkish state news service.
Speaking of the image, Arini said that the boy in the image is 18-month-old Mohammed Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq and it was taken after they were displaced from their home in north Gaza.
Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, cradles her sick son in Gaza. This image quickly went viral with Australian PM Anthony Albanese also being moved by it. AFP
He further explained that he took the image of the boy in his mother's arms to 'show the rest of the world the extreme hunger that babies and children are suffering from in the Gaza strip'. He added that Muhammad had not received milk, formula or vitamins and was living in a canvas tent, which resembled 'a tomb'.
'If you look at the photo closely, you will also see that Muhammad is wearing a plastic bag instead of diapers because of the lack of any humanitarian aid and the lack of any medicines,' said Arini to BBC.
Image goes viral, breaks people's hearts
Soon after Arini clicked the image, the gut-wrenching snapshot of Muhammad soon appeared on the front pages and on media portals to portray the starvation in Gaza.
The Daily Express called the visual, 'a horrifying image encapsulating the 'maelstrom of human misery' gripping Gaza.' It further reported, 'Muhammad (1), …weighs the same as a three-month-old baby, as famine slowly snuffs out life… Hunger and suffering has now reached a level never seen before with at least 12 children dying from malnutrition in the past 48 hours alone.'
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Similar versions appeared in different outlets such as The Guardian, NBC News, Daily Mail and the New York Times.
The image of the 18-month-old being depicted on the front pages of UK newspapers, The Daily Express and The Guardian. Image Courtesy: @jnascim.info‬/BlueSky
In fact, the NYT in its report quoted Muhammad's mother, Hidaya, as saying, 'I walk the streets looking for food. As an adult, I can bear the hunger,' she said. 'But my kids can't.'
The report quoting her says that Muhammad was born a healthy child. 'I look at him and I can't help but cry,' she said. 'We go to bed hungry and wake up thinking only about how to find food,' she added. 'I can't find milk or diapers.'
Muhammad's image was so overwhelming that it even prompted Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to react. 'For anyone with any sense of humanity, you have to be moved by that, and you have to acknowledge that every innocent life matters, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian,' Albanese said.
The Australian PM further told ABC's Insiders, 'A one-year-old boy is not a Hamas fighter, and the civilian casualties and death in Gaza is completely unacceptable. That boy isn't challenging Israel's right to existence, and nor are the many who continue to suffer from the unavailability of food and water.'
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More than meets the eye
However, it now seems that there's more to this image than what has been shown and depicted. Pro-Israel journalist David Collier claims that the viral visual 'is not the face of famine. It is the face of a medically vulnerable child whose tragic situation was hijacked and weaponised'.
He claimed that the media outlets chose to ignore the other images that the photographer took which shows his three-year-old brother Joud as being healthy.
He adds that Muhammad suffers from cerebral palsy, has hypoxemia, and was born with a serious genetic disorder. He wrote that the 18-month-old has required nutritional supplements since birth. Moreover, a medical report issued in Gaza in May 2025 confirms all of this, he adds.
Let me just start with other images the media chose not to use. Photographs of Mohammed with his 3-year-old brother Joud. Both mother and brother are healthy and fed.
Any honest journalist should have immediately questioned – and reported - what we were actually seeing. 3/13 pic.twitter.com/FaUsVFsqb2 — David Collier (@mishtal) July 27, 2025
Collier claimed that by doing this, media outlets were 'deliberately pushing a deceptive narrative that only serves to benefit Hamas and create fake news.'
He also called out the New York Times on its report that claimed that Muhammad's father was killed by the Israelis when he stepped out to 'look for food'. 'Turns out he was killed on October 28, 2024. He was killed in a targeted strike on 'al Qassabeeb' street in Jabaliya,' wrote Collier in his report.
Another pro-Israel monitor Honest Reporting also backed up Collier's claims, which further accused news outlets of failing to reveal the boy's reported pre-existing diseases.
'Every outlet that promoted this false narrative must update their coverage to reflect the full truth: Muhammad has a medical condition,' the organisation wrote Sunday. 'He is not simply a victim of starvation, and the image has been presented in a misleading and incomplete way.'
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Other such claims prop up
But the veracity of the image of Muhammad isn't the only such instance that has emerged amid the ongoing Israel war. Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published a front-page photo last Thursday of a malnourished child, headlining it as 'Is this a child?'
However, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) claims that the subject of the photo, five-year-old Osama al-Rakab, suffers from a serious genetic illness that is unrelated to the ongoing war, and is currently undergoing treatment abroad.
This is what a modern blood libel looks like:
A sick child. A hijacked photo. A lie that spreads faster than truth.
His name is Osama al-Raqab. He has cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic illness.
He's been in Italy receiving treatment since June 12. Israel enabled his medical… pic.twitter.com/Sh8UBK3HVh — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 28, 2025
On June 12, Israeli authorities coordinated his exit from Gaza via the Ramon airport, along with his mother and brother, and he is receiving medical treatment in Italy, COGAT claimed.
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'Tragic images rightfully stir strong emotions, but when they're misused to fuel hatred and lies, they do more harm than good,' read a statement on COGAT's English-language X account. 'Don't let compassion be exploited for propaganda. Check the facts before parroting blame.'
Starvation widespread in Gaza
While disputing claims of the images continue, international agencies and UN organisations claim that Israel is blocking aid, exacerbating desperate conditions for the territory's approximately two million people.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry has said that the total number of deaths due to hunger in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, have risen to 127, including 85 children.
Facing growing international pressure, Israel announced last week that it would begin to allow Arab countries such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to resume airdropping aid packages into Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then announced Sunday that its forces would begin a daily 'tactical pause' for humanitarian purposes in three areas: Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Musawi.
With inputs from agencies