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Morocco World
19 minutes ago
- Health
- Morocco World
Gaza is Starving, and the World is Watching it Live
Rabat — Gaza is starving. If you are following any news source or Palestinian creator on social media, it does not take more than 20 seconds on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook to see a picture of a starving child on your feed. This footage has influxed so much to the point that a hashtag is now circulating #GazaIsStarving. This hashtag was reported over the weekend to have been used in over 5,000 posts on Instagram at this point. But, despite this larger awareness campaign, this is not merely a trend. On the contrary, these videos and photos are simply Gazans, reporting quite frankly for the world to see, that they are starving to death in a man-made famine in which Israel is solely responsible. These horrifying images of emaciated bodies are backed by numbers, reported daily. Gaza's health ministry recently reported that 15 people have died, including 4 children, due to malnutrition in the last 24 hours alone. This added to the rising, but likely under-reported, death toll of 101 Gazans who died from malnutrition – 80 of them being children – since the genocide began on October 7. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) has reported an even more alarming number: 1 million — that is how many Gazan children are going hungry. Bread or bullets What's more? Gazans everyday are having to choose between the harsh reality of continuing to wither away from malnutrition or risking their lives to get food. It is no conspiracy theory or false reporting that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 'aid' points are merely danger zones for aid seekers. A Haaretz report released at the end of last month quoted IOF soldiers admitting that they were ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution centers, despite the lack of any threat being present. One unnamed soldier told the Israeli newspaper that 'between one five people' were killed everyday at these stations, which they described as being 'killing fields.' In a predictable turn of events, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected these claims, calling them 'blood libels,' but the on-site reports and social media footage by Palestinians themselves tell a different story. UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told AFP today that: 'As of July 21, we have recorded 1,054 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 766 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites and 288 near UN and other humanitarian organizations' aid convoys.' In the above post on Instagram, a man cries over his son, who was reportedly shot while they were waiting for aid at one of these sites. Hunger does not differentiate Even more insidious about Israel's starvation campaign is that weaponizing food affects everyone, even those there to provide help to those in most need. What started as reports of dying Gazan children and the vulnerable is now shifting into reports of malnourished aid workers, UN personnel, reporters, medics, and other volunteers working around the clock desperately to provide support for Palestinians on the ground. UNWRA reported that they are receiving 'desperate messages reporting famine' from their staff in Gaza, while Anera aid organization posted a quote from one of their staff members saying, 'People are falling on the ground due to lack of food. We are really hungry and can't stand on our feet.' An often forgotten part of the suffering amongst the sheer mass of human toll suffering are the animals that are dying from hunger as well. Alongside photos of their own emaciated bodies, Palestinians are sharing photos of their pets as well, skin-and-bone and struggling to get by. 'Gaza is dying, and we are dying with it' Meanwhile, some journalists are risking their lives even further to call out the inhumanity, reportedly going on a hunger strike until Gazan children can eat. Palestinian reporter Wadea Abou Al Saoud posted on his channels that he and a group of other journalists will not eat until 'the youngest child in Gaza has eaten.' AFP issued a recent statement saying that for the first time in its bureau's history, its journalists are facing death by starvation while reporting on the ground. The bureau gave details about the very small staff that is left in the besieged enclave, quoting their pleas for help. 'I no longer have the strength to work for the media,' one of their photographers reported, 'My body is thin and I can't work anymore.' The bureau urged immediate international intervention, stating that they 'refuse to let them die.' Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif reported that '85% of Gaza's population have entered the 'fifth stage' of malnutrition – the most critical and dangerous phase, which is often irreversible even if food becomes available in the future.' The journalist even broke down on a live broadcast – a physical representation of his words: 'I am staggering from hunger, trembling from exhaustion, and resisting the fainting that follows me every moment.' He continued, speaking for journalists in Gaza as a whole saying, 'We stand in front of the camera trying to appear strong, but the truth is that we are falling apart inside. Gaza is dying, and we are dying with it.' Weightless words Israel's war crimes are not going without official condemnation. The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jonathan Whittall post on X denouncing Israel's starvation campaign: '…Gaza is being starved. Malnutrition is soaring. Hospitals lack essential supplies and are collapsing under relentless waves of casualties,' he wrote, adding that 'a ceasefire is overdue, but that alone won't end this atrocity. All orders of the court must be implemented.' On Monday, multiple foreign ministers from 28 countries banded together to condemn what they described as 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food' in a collective joint statement. The signees included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The statement marks a strong one as many of them, notably, are allies of Israel. Israel responded with an X statement by Oren Marmorstein, foreign affairs spokesperson, stating that they reject the joint statement, calling it 'disconnected from reality' and that it 'sends the wrong message to Hamas.' However, regardless of the slew of condemnations, these words are still weightless unless they come either with direct punitive action, and more specifically, from Israel's strongest ally – the United States. Humanitarian organizations, journalists on the ground, and Palestinians themselves are urging that direct action is more important than ever, and that this catastrophe has surpassed merely a need for awareness campaigns and hashtags. 'Bang the pots' Local, grass-roots organizations on the ground, such as The Sameer Project, are doing their part to help. The 'donations-based' aid initiative has a water campaign that they report provides 16,000 liters a day into central Gaza, specifically in Deir El Balah and Nuseirat, among other locations. They are also working simultaneously on other aid initiatives to provide medical services and food to desperate Gazans. The project has multiple ways in which those wishing to contribute can donate. People around the world continue to mobilize for the Palestinian cause, in a time when it is needed more than ever. Morocco's capital of Rabat witnessed thousands on its streets just this past Sunday, calling an end to the genocide and denouncing Israel's war crimes of mass killing and starvation. Bisan Owda, a name that needs no introduction in the world of Palestinian journalists and content creators, has joined the chorus of those calling for a world-wide mobile action on July 24 specifically protesting against Israel's aid blockade. This online and in-person initiative calls on the world to 'Bang the Pots' and make noise to stop Israel's man-made famine. 'You are not helpless, this is a call for action!' Bisan posted. 'Bang the pots, because the sound of sound of our empty stomach and voice of humanity must be louder than their brutality.'
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Fifteen die of starvation in Gaza Strip, medics say
Israel says measures are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militants in the Gaza Strip. (AP PHOTO) Israel says measures are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militants in the Gaza Strip. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation. The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
One killed, dozens injured after Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities
A ten-year-old boy was killed and dozens injured after Russian strikes hit multiple Ukrainian cities overnight into Tuesday, ahead of talks between the two countries scheduled for Wednesday. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Russian FAB-250 aerial bomb struck a residential apartment building in Kramatorsk. The strike killed a 10-year-old boy, and injured at least eight civilians. Additional Russian drones damaged garages, houses, vehicles and an industrial area in the wider Donetsk region, hitting at least nine settlements overall in the barrage. Apartment buildings, a kindergarten, private garages, cars, and parts of an industrial zone were also damaged. The Black Sea port city of Odesa was targeted by more than ten drones overnight, according to the Southern Air Command. The strike damaged civilian infrastructure, including administrative building, vehicles and public facilities. In one impacted district, several cars caught fire in a parking lot near a multi-storey building which saw its windows blown out due to the blast. More than 30 cars were damaged in the attack, as well as a building housing a gym. The gym's owner, Ivan, said not a single window had survived the blast. "The security guard who was in the gazebo near the blast site is safe and unharmed. My cat has lived here since the beginning — he was rescued around 3 am, there was smoke, but they carried him out. I'm glad he's alive and no one was hurt — that's the most important thing. Everything else we'll rebuild and keep working," Ivan said. State Emergency Services in the Odesa region said that a 41-year-old woman sustained a head injury in the blast and was later hospitalised. In the north-eastern city of Sumy, a strike hit residential buildings and vehicles, injuring at least twelve people. The most severe damage in the city was reported at an apartment building on Peremohy Avenue, where five apartment blocks and 18 vehicles were damaged according to the Ukrainian State Emergency Services. A humanitarian NGO operating near the building stepped in to help residents, providing psychological support and advice for claiming property damage compensation. The Russian strikes come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in his evening address on Monday that there would be another round of talks between Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday. Two previous rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have resulted in large scale prisoner swaps, but little concrete progress on ending the war. US President Donald Trump has been putting further pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has evaded agreeing to a US-backed ceasefire proposal and continued to ramp up long-range attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities.
Shafaq News
6 hours ago
- Health
- Shafaq News
UN agencies accuse Israel of targeting aid workers
Shafaq News – Gaza On Tuesday, two major UN agencies accused Israeli forces of attacking humanitarian facilities and obstructing relief efforts, as Gaza's collapsing health sector faces mounting pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Israeli troops raided its staff residence in Deir al-Balah three times. Women and children were forced to flee on foot, while male employees were handcuffed, stripped, and interrogated at gunpoint. The agency condemned the raids and confirmed the destruction of its main warehouse. The Israeli military later acknowledged operations in the area, claiming 'coordination' with aid agencies to evacuate the sites. WHO operations compromised following attacks on warehouse and facility sheltering staff and families in GazaWHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah, in the middle area of Gaza, the mistreatment of those sheltering there,… — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 21, 2025 Meanwhile, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reported that aid workers are now fainting from hunger and exhaustion due to the distribution methods of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini accused of endangering civilians. 'Snipers fire on crowds as if given license to kill.' 'We have thousands of staff holding the fort… They've been doing the heavy lifting in Gaza and the West Bank,' UNRWA @JulietteTouma tells @ people of #Gaza are being starved. People—including UNRWA staff—are fainting from severe who provide care now… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025 More than 1,000 people have died while trying to access aid since May, according to UNRWA, most of them near GHF distribution sites. The Foundation denies the allegations, accusing the UN of spreading misinformation.
Saudi Gazette
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
At least 1,054 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military, UN says
GENEVA — At least 1,054 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to access food aid in Gaza, the United Nations' human rights office said in a statement Tuesday. 'Palestinians in Gaza are starving to death,' the statement said. Desperate, hungry people are approaching aid sites run by the controversial Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the statement said, 'even though between May 27 and July 21, 1,054 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza while trying to access food.' The GHF began operating in the Gaza Strip on May 27. Some 766 people were killed in the vicinity of their sites since then, the UN office said, while 288 were killed around aid convoys run by groups including the UN. CNN has reached to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. In a post on X, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Hamas of shooting civilians trying to collect aid, but did not provide any evidence for this. 'The deaths and the horrendous physical and psychological suffering caused by hunger are the result of Israel's interference with and militarization of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,' the UN's statement said. 'The Israeli military must immediately stop shooting at people trying to get food. Firearms must never be used simply to disperse a crowd, even as a warning.' The UN office called on Israel to allow more humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip and lift its restrictions on the UN and other humanitarian groups in the enclave. — CNN
