‘Worst-case scenario of famine' is happening in Gaza, food crisis experts say
The alert, still short of a formal famine declaration, follows an outcry over images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war. The international pressure led Israel over the weekend to announce measures, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. The United Nations and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm and unload delivery trucks before they can reach their destinations.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel.
A formal famine declaration, which is rare, requires the kind of data that the lack of access to Gaza and mobility within has largely denied. The IPC has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudan's western Darfur region last year.
But independent experts say they don't need a formal declaration to know what they're seeing in Gaza.
'Just as a family physician can often diagnose a patient she's familiar with based on visible symptoms without having to send samples to the lab and wait for results, so too we can interpret Gaza's symptoms. This is famine,' Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told The Associated Press.
What it takes to declare famine
An area is classified as in famine when all three of the following conditions are confirmed:
At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. At least 30% of children six months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height. And at least two people or four children under 5 per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
The report is based on available information through July 25 and says the crisis has reached 'an alarming and deadly turning point.' It says data indicate that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza — at its lowest level since the war began — and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. The report says nearly 17 out of every 100 children under the age of 5 in Gaza City are acutely malnourished.
Mounting evidence shows 'widespread starvation.' Essential health and other services have collapsed. One in three people in Gaza is going without food for days at a time, according to the World Food Program. Hospitals report a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under 5. Gaza's population of over 2 million has been squeezed into increasingly tiny areas of the devastated territory.
The IPC's latest analysis in May warned that Gaza will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Its new alert calls for immediate and large-scale action and warns: 'Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the strip.'
What aid restrictions look like
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Israel eased those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead with a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. The traditional, U.N.-led aid providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while criminals and hungry crowds swarm entering convoys.
While Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza, U.N. agencies and aid groups say even the latest humanitarian measures are not enough to counter the worsening starvation. In a statement Monday, Doctors Without Borders called the new airdrops ineffective and dangerous, saying they deliver less aid than trucks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said no one is starving in Gaza and that Israel has supplied enough aid throughout the war, 'otherwise, there would be no Gazans.' Israel's military on Monday criticized what it calls 'false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza.'
Israel's closest ally now appears to disagree. 'Those children look very hungry,' President Donald Trump said Monday of the images from Gaza in recent days.
___
Anna reported from Lowville, New York.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Trump administration weighs fate of $9M stockpile of contraceptives feared earmarked for destruction
Irene A Kerkulah, the health officer in charge at the Palala Clinic, looks at an almost-empty shelf at the clinic that once held contraceptives, in Bong County, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg, File) BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump's administration says it is weighing what to do with family planning supplies stockpiled in Europe that campaigners and two U.S. senators are fighting to save from destruction. Concerns that the Trump administration plans to incinerate the stockpile have angered family planning advocates on both sides of the Atlantic. Campaigners say the supplies stored in a U.S.-funded warehouse in Geel, Belgium, include contraceptive pills, contraceptive implants and IUDs that could spare women in war zones and elsewhere the hardship of unwanted pregnancies. U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said Thursday in response to a question about the contraceptives that 'we're still in the process here in terms of determining the way forward.' 'When we have an update, we'll provide it,' he said. Belgium says it has been talking with U.S. diplomats about trying to spare the supplies from destruction, including possibly moving them out of the warehouse. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Florinda Baleci told The Associated Press that she couldn't comment further 'to avoid influencing the outcome of the discussions.' The Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which managed foreign aid programs, left the supplies' fate uncertain. Pigott didn't detail the types of contraceptives that make up the stockpile. He said some of the supplies, bought by the previous administration, could 'potentially be' drugs designed to induce abortions. Pigott didn't detail how that might impact Trump administration thinking about how to deal with the drugs or the entire stockpile. Costing more than US$9 million and funded by U.S taxpayers, the family planning supplies were intended for women in war zones, refugee camps and elsewhere, according to a bipartisan letter of protest to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio from U.S. senators Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski. They said destroying the stockpile 'would be a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars as well as an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths — key goals of U.S. foreign assistance.' They urged Rubio to allow another country or partner to distribute the contraceptives. Concerns voiced by European campaigners and lawmakers that the supplies could be transported to France for incineration have led to mounting pressure on government officials to intervene and save them. The executive branch of the European Union, through spokesman Guillaume Mercier, said Friday that 'we continue to monitor the situation closely to explore the most effective solutions.' The U.S. branch of family planning aid group MSI Reproductive Choices said it offered to purchase, repackage and distribute the stock at its own expense but 'these efforts were repeatedly rejected.' The group said the supplies included long-acting IUDs, contraceptive implants and pills, and that they have long shelf-lives, extending as far as 2031. Aid group Doctors Without Borders said incineration would be 'an intentionally reckless and harmful act against women and girls everywhere.' Charles Dallara, the grandson of a French former lawmaker who was a contraception pioneer in France, urged President Emmanuel Macron to not let France 'become an accomplice to this scandal.' 'Do not allow France to take part in the destruction of essential health tools for millions of women,' Dallara wrote in an appeal to the French leader. 'We have a moral and historical responsibility.' ___ Leicester reported from Paris. Matthew Lee contributed from Washington, D.C. Lorne Cook And John Leicester, The Associated Press
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
EU chief's texts to a pharma boss during pandemic were likely erased, the NYT reports
BRUSSELS (AP) — Text messages exchanged between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a pharmaceutical boss during the COVID-19 pandemic were seen by her top adviser and have likely been destroyed, the New York Times reported Friday. Von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla exchanged the messages as COVID-19 ravaged European communities from Portugal to Finland and the EU scrambled to buy millions of hard to find vaccines. She was under intense scrutiny to deliver.
Toronto Sun
4 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
NYC shooter's brain will be tested for CTE, officials say
Published Aug 01, 2025 • 6 minute read This undated image provided by Las Vegas Dept. of Motor Vehicle shows Shane Tamura. (Las Vegas Dept. of Motor Vehicle via AP) AP The brain of the gunman in Monday's deadly shootings at the Manhattan building that houses the NFL's offices will be evaluated for the degenerative disorder from which he claimed to be suffering, according to the city's medical examiner's office. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A spokesperson for New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner said testing and evaluation for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) will take place over multiple weeks in an assessment of possible diseases of the brain, spinal cord and nerves of the shooter, identified by authorities as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas. '[T]he medical examiner is performing a neuropathology assessment as part of the complete autopsy,' a member of the office's public affairs and communications staff wrote in an email Thursday to The Washington Post. Asked to clarify whether screening for CTE, which typically involves a special diagnostic staining process, is certain to be part of the assessment, the office said by email: 'Yes, our office has neuropathology expertise in house. The nature of the testing is expected to take multiple weeks.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Four people, including a New York City police officer, were killed when the gunman opened fire Monday inside the high-rise office building in Midtown Manhattan. The gunman then fatally shot himself in the chest, authorities said. An NFL employee was wounded in the shooting at 345 Park Avenue. Investigators found a three-page handwritten note in Tamura's wallet that referenced CTE, according to a person familiar with the law enforcement investigation. 'Study my brain please,' the note read. According to a copy of the note obtained by the New York Post, the gunman also apparently mentioned by name Boston University, a leader in CTE research, and prominent researchers, including Ann McKee and Bennet Omalu. New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) did not specify Tuesday whether Tamura's brain will be tested for CTE, saying during an interview with CNN: 'The medical examiner here in the city, he will make that determination on the next steps in collaboration with the district attorney in Manhattan County.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously. The brains of many high-profile athletes have been donated to the UNITE Brain Bank and studied at Boston University's CTE Center. Its CTE diagnoses include Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL tight end who was serving a life sentence for murder when he died by suicide in 2017 and was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE, and Phillip Adams, a 32-year-old former NFL player who killed six people and himself in 2021 and was found to have stage 2 CTE. Chris Nowinski, the CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, which works with the BU center and helps operate the brain bank, said he didn't anticipate Tamura's brain making its way to BU's researchers unless requested by New York's medical examiner's office. Unlike medical examiners in many other cities, the New York City office has doctors qualified to make a CTE diagnosis, he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'They have neuropathologists on their team who understand CTE,' Nowinski said in a phone interview. 'They can do the study for CTE and all other known brain abnormalities themselves. Whether they ask anyone to review their findings, I don't know. But I have full confidence in them.' Nowinski said he was confident that CTE would be among the pathologies looked for by the New York officials. In a more routine case, CTE might not be on the checklist. The diagnostic process involves first fixing a brain sample in a formalin solution to harden. Researchers then stain the sample to highlight deposits of tau protein, an indicator of CTE. 'I'm sure they'll probably do the same kind of work-up we do,' Nowinski said. 'We don't just look for CTE. We look for all brain abnormalities – could see genetic disorders, tumours, all sorts of things.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He cautioned that even if Tamura is determined to have CTE, that wouldn't necessarily explain his actions in the Manhattan high-rise and certainly wouldn't rule out other contributing factors such as mental illness, genetic disorders or drug use. Experts in the field don't expect quick answers. The process for studying the brain and diagnosing CTE can take two or more weeks and wouldn't necessarily be made public until the medical examiner's office and investigators choose to release the findings. In the case of Adams, a CTE diagnosis wasn't made public for eight months. Most high-profile CTE cases have been linked to NFL players, and researchers don't know how prevalent CTE might be in athletes who only played through high school. One 2023 study from Boston University focused on athletes who died before the age of 30. It included the brains of 45 players who didn't play football beyond high school; 14 of them – 31 percent – were found to have CTE. (Researchers note the brains were donated by families who sought a neuropathologic examination and might have suspected CTE.) This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tamura played football in high school but not college or the NFL. The note found in his wallet cited Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman who took his own life in 2005. The Allegheny County coroner's office first ruled Long died of meningitis, but a revised death certificate filed one month later listed the manner of Long's death as suicide from drinking antifreeze. The medical examiner's office called Long's football-related brain injuries a contributing factor to his death but said he did not die as a direct result of them, the Associated Press reported in January 2006. The note found in Tamura's wallet said the 'league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits' and 'failed us.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Adams said in broadcast interviews Tuesday that the shooter was targeting the NFL. 'From our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,' Adams told CBS. 'Instead, it took him to Rudin Management. And that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.' The NFL has closed its offices through at least the end of next week. Commissioner Roger Goodell instructed employees to work remotely until then. Goodell participated in a virtual town hall for NFL employees Wednesday and spoke to NBC from the New York area during its broadcast of Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. 'It's a difficult thing, particularly when you're dealing with a senseless act like this,' Goodell said. 'There are no excuses for those senseless acts. They're hard for all of us to understand. When it inflicts pain on people you know and people you care about and people that we deal with on a daily basis, that's particularly hard.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Goodell attended police officer Didarul Islam's funeral Thursday. 'It hits home,' Goodell said. 'The loss – the unnecessary and unexplainable loss. … It was a difficult, emotional afternoon but also a tremendous, heartwarming service for him.' Goodell said he spent about an hour at a hospital Wednesday with the NFL employee, Craig Clementi, who was injured in the shooting. Goodell did not refer to Clementi by name but called him an 'amazing young man.' He called his condition 'stable and improving' and added: 'We're optimistic about his recovery.' The NFL held a moment of silence before the kickoff of Thursday night's preseason-opening game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions. 'This is an attack on humanity,' Goodell said. 'This is an attack on our communities. This is an attack on New York. This is an attack on our way of life.' Read More Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA World World Tennis
