Latest news with #Lazzarini
Time of India
14 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."
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, UN aid agency says
One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing every day, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) says. In a statement issued on Thursday, Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses." More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation - pressing for governments to take action. Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no siege and blames Hamas for any cases of malnutrition. The UN, however, has warned that the level of aid getting into Gaza is "a trickle" and the hunger crisis in the territory "has never been so dire". In his statement on Thursday, Lazzarini said "more than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger". "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 said, pleading for Israel to "allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza". Unrwa workers are "increasingly fainting from hunger while at work", according to Lazzarini, who added: "When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing". On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said a large proportion of the population of Gaza was "starving". "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation - and it's man-made," the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said. In northern Gaza, Hanaa Almadhoun, 40, said local markets are often without food and other supplies. "If they do exist then they come at exorbitant prices that no ordinary person can afford," she told the BBC over WhatsApp. She said flour was expensive and difficult to secure, and that people have sold "gold and personal belongings" to afford it. The mother-of-three said "every new day brings a new challenge" as people search for "something edible". "With my own eyes, I've seen children rummaging through the garbage in search of food scraps," she added. During a visit to Israeli troops in Gaza on Wednesday, Israel's President Isaac Herzog insisted his country was providing humanitarian aid "according to international law". But Tahani Shehada, an aid worker in Gaza, said people "are just trying to survive hour-by-hour". "Even simple things like cooking [and] taking a shower have become luxuries," she said. "I have a baby. He's eight months old. He doesn't know what fresh fruit tastes like," she added. We might get killed, but we have to get food, injured Gazan tells BBC The hardest time I have lived through, says BBC Gaza journalist on struggle to feed family He went to get aid and didn't come back - stories of people killed in Gaza Israel and US leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March following a two-month ceasefire. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages worsened. Israel, with the US, established a new aid system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months. It says at least 766 of them have been killed in the vicinity of one of the GHF's four distribution centres, which are operated by US private security contractors and are located inside Israeli military zones. Another 288 people have been reported killed near UN and other aid convoys. Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. It says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians. The GHF says the UN is using "false" figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Najah, a 19-year-old widow sheltering in a hospital in Gaza, said she fears she would "get shot" if she travelled to aid distribution site. "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," Najah told the BBC. A doctor working in Gaza with a UK medical charity, Dr Aseel, said Gaza was not close to famine, but already "living it". "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." Abu Alaa, a market seller in Gaza, said he and his children "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," he added. Walaa Fathi, who is eight months pregnant with her third child, said Gazans 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," she told the BBC from Deir al-Balah.
United News of India
18 hours ago
- Health
- United News of India
One in 5 children in Gaza City malnourished: UN aid agency
Gaza City, July 25 (UNI) One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing every day, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said. In a statement issued today, Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses." More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation - pressing for governments to take action, reports BBC News. On other hand, Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, refuted the claim of a siege in the territory and instead, blamed Hamas for any cases of malnutrition. The UN, however, has warned that the level of aid getting into Gaza is "a trickle" and the hunger crisis in the territory "has never been so dire". In his statement, Lazzarini further said, "more than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger". On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that a large proportion of the population of Gaza was "starving". "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation - and it's man-made," remarked the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In northern parts of Gaza, Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March following a two-month ceasefire. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages Almadhoun (40), maintained that local markets are often without food and other supplies. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages worsened. According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months. UNI XC SS
Scoop
a day ago
- Health
- Scoop
‘Famine Silently Begins To Unfold' In Gaza, UNRWA Chief Says
24 July 2025 Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said that is what one of its workers told him on Thursday morning. This sobering comment comes amidst increasingly severe malnutrition for children and adults throughout the Gaza Strip. 'When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food and care disappears, famine silently begins to unfold,' Mr. Lazzarini said in a tweet. Bombs are not the only thing that kills Gaza has faced relentless bombardment for almost three years, but Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a briefing on Wednesday that it is not just the bombs which are killing Palestinians. Starvation is 'another killer'. Reportedly at least 100 people have died from hunger, and WHO has documented at least 21 cases of children under the age of five dying from malnutrition. Additionally, Mr. Lazzarini said one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, a number increasing every day that unhindered humanitarian aid is denied. He said these children urgently need treatment, but supplies remain low. Between early March and mid-May – 80 consecutive days – no aid was allowed into the Gaza Strip, pushing the population to the brink of famine. While minimal aid has since entered, Tedros emphasised that it is not enough. 'Food deliveries have resumed intermittently, but remain far below what is needed for the survival of the population,' he said. Safe havens are no longer safe Tedros reported that between 27 May and 21 July, over 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed while trying to access food. Many of these have died in or around sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American-run and Israeli-backed aid distribution organization which the UN has repeatedly said violates well-established principles of international humanitarian law. 'Parents tell us their children cry themselves to sleep from hunger. Food distribution sites have become places of violence,' Tedros said. In addition to risking their lives when seeking out desperately needed humanitarian assistance, hospitals – which have been systematically targeted, according to UNFPA – are no longer safe havens. 'Hospitals, which are supposed to be safe havens, have regularly been attacked, and many are no longer functioning,' Tedros said. He recalled that on Monday, a WHO staff residence, a humanitarian site, was attacked, with male personnel being stripped and interrogated, women and children forced to flee on foot in the midst of violence and one WHO staff member detained. 'Despite this, WHO and other UN agencies are staying in Gaza. Our commitment is firm. UN agencies must be protected while operating in conflict zones,' Tedros said. Frontline workers face hunger In addition to the Palestinians in Gaza who are 'emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying', aid workers are also feeling the effects of the sustained lack of supplies. Most UNRWA workers are surviving on a meagre bowl of lentils each day, Mr. Lazzarini said, leading many of them to faint from hunger at work. 'When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing,' he said. Some parents are too hungry to care for their children, and even those who do reach clinics for treatment are often too tired to follow the advice provided. Mr. Lazzarini noted that UNRWA alone has 6,000 trucks of desperately needed food and medical supplies in Jordan and Egypt. He called for this and other aid to be immediately let through. 'Families are no longer coping. They are breaking down, unable to survive. Their existence is threatened,' he said. 'Allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza.'
Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- Indian Express
‘People in Gaza are walking corpses': UN warns as famine deepens
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that the humanitarian system in Gaza is on the verge of collapse, as starvation grips the besieged enclave and even aid workers begin to faint from hunger. 'People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses,' said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in a post on X. At least 113 people have died of hunger, including 45 in the past four days. 'This deepening crisis is affecting everyone, including those trying to save lives … When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing,' Lazzarini said. UNRWA says it has around 6,000 truckloads of food and medical supplies waiting in Jordan and Egypt, but Israeli restrictions have blocked most aid from entering Gaza. Lazzarini urged Israel to allow 'unrestricted and uninterrupted' humanitarian access. As international pressure mounts, Hamas submitted a revised ceasefire proposal to mediators. An Israeli official reportedly called it 'workable.' Talks are set to continue in Sardinia with officials from the US, Israel, and Qatar. The proposed deal includes a 60-day ceasefire, during which Hamas would release 10 hostages and return the remains of 18 others in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. It also calls for expanded humanitarian access, a restoration of the UN aid system, and discussions on a permanent end to the war. 'People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses': a colleague in #Gaza told me this morning. Meanwhile, according to @UNRWA latest findings: one in every five children is malnourished in Gaza City as cases increase every day. When child malnutrition… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 24, 2025 But despite the progress, Israel continues to bombard central Gaza, killing at least 89 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza health officials. Israeli negotiators have returned from Doha for internal consultations, with key sticking points remaining—especially over troop withdrawals and the future of the UN aid distribution system. Since March, Israel has effectively blocked UN-led aid operations, accusing Hamas of diverting supplies—a claim disputed by aid agencies. In its place, Israel allows limited distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US firm that operates with a militarised model. The system has been widely condemned, with over 1,000 people reportedly killed while trying to access aid in the past two months. Protests in Tel Aviv have erupted, with demonstrators carrying sacks of flour and photos of starving Palestinian children, demanding an end to the blockade. As the World Health Organisation calls the starvation 'man-made,' pressure grows on Israel's government—externally and internally—to end the crisis before more lives are lost.
