Latest news with #Gaza-based
Russia Today
10 minutes ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
US and Israel condemn Macron's move to endorse Palestinian statehood
The United States and Israel have strongly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron following his announcement that France intends to recognize the state of Palestine. Macron made the statement Thursday, with an official declaration expected in September, saying the move would advance peace efforts in the Middle East. Washington and West Jerusalem have condemned the pledge, warning that it would have the opposite consequences. 'This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. 'It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7,' 2023, he said, referring to the date Gaza-based Hamas militants led a deadly assault on southern Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Macron's decision, calling it an act that 'rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became.' Qatar-mediated peace talks collapsed again this week, after the US and Israel pulled out of them, accusing Hamas of not acting in good faith. Major Western news agencies have warned that their journalists in Gaza are facing starvation. BBC News, Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Associated Press and Reuters have called on Israel to allow foreign press access to the enclave. Israel's far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said the government should not intervene as the residents of the enclave face starvation. 'All of Gaza will be Jewish,' he told local media. West Jerusalem has denied allegations of obstructing humanitarian aid and blamed distribution problems on Hamas 'looting' and what it described as United Nations inaction. The initial incursion by Palestinian fighters in 2023 killed approximately 1,200 people and led to the capture of dozens of hostages. More than 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel's miliary response, according to local officials, which critics have described as disproportionate and potentially genocidal. The conflict has since expanded to involve other nations, including Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran, raising fears of a regional war. Several countries have formally recognized the state of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict, including Spain, Norway, Ireland and Mexico.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
'Walking corpses': Photos of malnourished Gaza toddler go viral as humanitarian situation worsens; see pics inside
Representative- AI generated image A Gaza-based photographer has revealed the heartbreaking reality behind a viral image taken by him of a severely underweight child, captured amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. Speaking to BBC Newshour, Ahmed al-Arini said he took the photograph to "show the rest of the world extreme hunger" affecting babies and children in the Gaza Strip. While global food security experts have not formally declared a famine, United Nations agencies have warned that Gaza is in the grip of mass, man-made starvation. They cite Israel's control over the flow of supplies into the Palestinian enclave as the primary cause- a claim Israel strongly denies. The Israeli government instead blames Hamas for malnutrition cases. According to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), around 20 per cent of children in Gaza City suffer from malnutrition, with the numbers growing daily. On Thursday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini relayed a stark observation from a colleague, similar to the photographer's portrayal, - "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Paras Sector 59 Gurgaon | Luxury Awaits at Paras Floret Paras The Florett Book Now Undo Over 100 international humanitarian and human rights organisations have sounded the alarm on widespread hunger and urged immediate global intervention. Israel, which oversees all crossings into Gaza, maintains it is not imposing a blockade and continues to hold Hamas accountable for food shortages. The UN, however, says the level of aid entering the strip is critically low and the hunger crisis is without precedent. In a statement, Lazzarini said "more than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger." He added: "Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need." He urged Israel to "allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza." UNRWA staff themselves are increasingly struggling. "When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing," Lazzarini said, adding that staff are "increasingly fainting from hunger while at work." The World Health Organisation (WHO) echoed the warnings. On Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation — and it's man-made." People of Gaza describe their living conditions In northern Gaza, 40-year-old Hanaa Almadhoun described worsening conditions. She told the BBC via WhatsApp, "If [food and supplies] do exist then they come at exorbitant prices that no ordinary person can afford." She explained that people had sold "gold and personal belongings" just to buy flour. "Every new day brings a new challenge" as families scavenge for "something edible," she added. "With my own eyes, I've seen children rummaging through the garbage in search of food scraps." During a visit to Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog insisted that his country was providing humanitarian aid "according to international law." But aid worker Tahani Shehada, based in Gaza, described a different reality saying, "People are just trying to survive hour-by-hour. Even simple things like cooking [and] taking a shower have become luxuries." She added: "I have a baby. He's eight months old. He doesn't know what fresh fruit tastes like." In early March, Israel suspended aid deliveries to Gaza following a temporary ceasefire. Though some restrictions were later eased, shortages of food, fuel, and medicine have only deepened. To streamline relief efforts, Israel and the United States established the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but deadly incidents have continued. The UN human rights office reports that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to collect food aid in the last two months, according to BBC. At least 766 of those deaths occurred near one of GHF's four distribution centres, operated by US private contractors inside Israeli military zones. Another 288 were killed near UN and other aid convoys. Israel maintains that Hamas incites disorder near aid convoys and insists that its troops fire only warning shots, avoiding civilian harm. The GHF has accused the UN of relying on "false" data from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Najah, a 19-year-old widow sheltering at a Gaza hospital, said she fears for her life every time she attempts to reach an aid site. She told the BBC: "I hope they bring us something to eat and drink. We die of hunger with nothing to eat or drink. We live in tents. We are finished off." Dr Aseel, a physician working with a UK-based medical charity in Gaza, disputed the suggestion that famine is looming — saying it's already here. "My husband went once [to an aid distribution point] and twice and then got shot and that was it," she said. "If we are to die from hunger, let it be. The path to aid is the path to death." Gaza market seller Abu Alaa described his family's daily struggle: "We go to bed hungry every night. We are not alive. We are dead. We are pleading with the whole world to intervene and save us." Meanwhile, Eight months pregnant with her third child, Walaa Fathi said Gaza is experiencing a level of deprivation few imagined possible. From Deir al-Balah, she told the BBC: "We are experiencing a catastrophe and a famine that no one could have imagined. I hope that my baby stays in my womb and I don't have to give birth in these difficult circumstances."
Shafaq News
a day ago
- Health
- Shafaq News
Gaza famine deepens as crossings remain closed for 145 days
Shafaq News – Gaza At least 17 Palestinians, including three individuals seeking humanitarian aid, were killed by Israeli fire on Thursday, according to Palestinian media outlets, as Gaza's humanitarian crisis continues to intensify under a prolonged blockade. The Government Media Office in Gaza reported that famine is spreading rapidly across the enclave, attributing the deterioration to the complete closure of all Israeli-controlled border crossings for the past 145 days. Since October 7, 2023, hospitals have recorded over 115 deaths linked to starvation and malnutrition, within a total death toll that now nears 60,000. The office estimated that Gaza requires a minimum of 500,000 flour bags weekly to prevent further collapse of essential services, urging the international community to facilitate the immediate and sustained entry of food, medicine, and infant formula to the more than 2.4 million residents living under siege. Responding to reports on social media suggesting an improvement in humanitarian conditions or the entry of large numbers of aid trucks, the office rejected these claims, describing them as inconsistent with on-the-ground realities and warning against what it called a 'deliberate distortion of the ongoing crime.' The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) expressed concern about the strain on humanitarian personnel. 'Starving and exhausted, medical and humanitarian workers are fainting while on duty,' the agency wrote on X, renewing its call for a ceasefire and coordinated aid delivery at scale. 'Where else in the world has this happened? #Gaza: starving and exhausted, medical and humanitarian workers are fainting while on UNRWA staff are struggling to find food yet continue to much longer until words turn into action?A ceasefire and a standard… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025 The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported a rise in child and elderly deaths due to hunger, two months after the launch of a new aid distribution mechanism. It cited continued access restrictions, violence near aid sites, and logistical failures as contributing factors. Over two months after Israel launched an aid distribution mechanism through the #Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, starvation in Gaza has reached its peak, with dozens of children and elderly people dying from severe Here are 8 reasons⤵️ — Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) July 23, 2025 Meanwhile, the Gaza-based Palestinian Tribal and Clan Council warned of a worsening water crisis, pointing to the near-total lack of potable water following the destruction of infrastructure and disruption of key water sources. The council called for international intervention to address what it described as 'a life-threatening shortage.' Starving civilians in northern Gaza lured to aid sites and executed, revealing brutal pattern of Israel's genocide — Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) July 23, 2025 Protests have taken place in cities across Europe and North America, including London, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Vienna, New York, and Chicago, calling for increased aid and an end to hostilities. In Vienna, demonstrators banged empty pots to draw attention to Gaza's food crisis. Demonstrations were also reported in Tel Aviv, where protesters criticized Israeli policy toward the Gaza blockade. نشطاء يقرعون الأواني الفارغة في العاصمة النمساوية فيينا لدق ناقوس الخطر حول المجاعة والحرب المستمرة على غزة. — المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) July 24, 2025
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Hamas Funded Gaza War Using Digital Currency? DOJ Targets Accounts Aiding Militants With Crypto
The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to confiscate nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to terrorist financing. According to officials, shadowy financial networks used digital assets to funnel money to Hamas, ISIS, and al-Qaeda affiliates. The forfeiture claim targets funds held in Tether Limited and Binance Holdings accounts connected to BuyCash Money and Money Transfer Company, a Gaza-based business. One of BuyCash's owners, Ahmed al-Qad, is under suspicion for directly supporting these groups.
The Star
3 days ago
- General
- The Star
Feature: Empty stalls, hollow stomachs -- Gaza's markets in age of blockade
GAZA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- At noon in Deir al-Balah's market square, Mohammed Nassar's shadow stretched thin across the bleached wood of empty stalls. His fingers trembled as they wiped sweat -- not from labor, but from exhaustion. "I've been walking here since six in the morning," the 35-year-old from the city of central Gaza told Xinhua. "And there is simply nothing to eat." "For over three weeks, my children and I haven't tasted bread. No vegetables, no fruit, no flour. I can hardly speak to you because of the hunger," he said. Where spices once perfumed the air, only dust swirled. Where vendors once haggled, silence hung like a shroud. The markets in Deir al-Balah and other places in Gaza, such as Khan Younis and Gaza City, once arteries of commerce, have become synonyms for absence. Fifteen more people, including four children, died from starvation in the past 24 hours, whereas 101 people, including 80 children, have lost their lives to hunger and malnutrition since March, the Gaza-based health authorities said Tuesday, adding that "the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing Israeli blockade." The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on social media platform X on Tuesday that "People in Gaza, including UNRWA colleagues, are fainting due to severe hunger. They are being starved." "Meanwhile, just a few kilometers away from Gaza, supermarkets and shops are loaded with food and other goods. Lift the siege. Allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicines," it said. The numbers are telling a story of cruelty, and the faces another one of desperation. Saleem al-Hato, a 50-year-old father of seven, was displaced from Gaza City and now resides in a makeshift shelter in Deir al-Balah. "Yesterday, my daughter cried all day because she had nothing to eat. We asked our neighbors for help and received two cans of peas. That's all we had for the entire family," he lamented. Even chroniclers of this crisis are crumbling. "Famine has reached a terrifying level. The markets are almost entirely empty, and whatever is available is far beyond the reach of ordinary people. A kilogram of flour now costs more than 200 shekels (over 50 U.S. dollars). I haven't been able to buy any for three days," Mohammed Odwan, a 39-year-old journalist and father of three, confessed. "I am dizzy, weak, and can barely move. I cannot focus on reporting. My body is exhausted, and my children are hungry," Odwan said, voice fraying. 37-year-old photographer Abdel Hakim Abu Riash, 20 kilograms lighter, documented his own decline in a tent in Gaza City: "My wife and I skip meals just so our children can eat something, usually just one meal a day, and often not even that." "The famine is not just taking lives; It's stripping people of their dignity. I can barely hold my camera anymore. Many of us go two days without eating a single thing. This is the reality for most Gazans now," he told Xinhua. Bahaa Abu Sultan, a former trader, now lives as an unemployed, displaced person in a southern Gaza shelter. "Before the war, life was stable. We had food, water, jobs, shelter," he told Xinhua. "Now, everything has collapsed. Hunger defines our lives. We are no longer the people we once were. I haven't eaten for two days. I try to sleep during the day to escape hunger. Most of us can barely stand on our feet anymore," he said. As dusk falls, children would sleep on clothing piles, startled awake not by hunger pangs but Israeli airstrikes. Their parents, in the meantime, would whisper the same question: "Will tomorrow be the day we find bread?"
