Latest news with #ZiadMusleh
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Malnutrition reaches new heights in Gaza, children most affected
Palestinians gather to receive meals distributed by charities in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip. (EPA Images pic) GAZA CITY : As malnutrition surges in war-torn Gaza, tens of thousands of children and women require urgent treatment, according to the UN, while aid enters the blockaded Palestinian territory at a trickle. Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP it has noted a rising number of infant deaths caused by 'severe hunger and malnutrition', reporting at least three such deaths in the past week. 'These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,' civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza's north to the central city of Nuseirat, told AFP: 'We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it.' 'Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food. 'And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous – no one can afford it.' At a food distribution site in a UN school turned shelter in Nuseirat on Sunday, children entertained themselves by banging on their plates as they waited for their turn. Several of them had faces stretched thin by hunger, an AFP journalist reported. Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, said she had lost 35kg (77 pounds). 'We do not eat enough. I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter,' she said, adding that she had a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes. Depleted stocks Gazans as well as the UN and aid organisations frequently complain that depleted stocks have sent prices skyrocketing for what little food is available in the markets. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned in early July that the price of flour for bread was 3,000 times more expensive than before the war began more than 21 months ago. WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, described the situation as 'the worst I've ever seen'. 'A father I met had lost 25 kilograms in the past two months. People are starving while we have food just across the border,' he said in a statement. After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May. As stocks accumulated during the ceasefire gradually depleted, the Palestinian territory experienced the worst shortages since the start of the war. 'Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it,' said Skau. 'I'm always hungry' The effects of malnutrition on children and pregnant women can be particularly dire. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said last week that its teams are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by its teams in Gaza. 'Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation levels, many babies are being born prematurely,' said Joanne Perry, an MSF doctor in Gaza. 'Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator.' Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, said she thinks of food constantly. 'I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', and he promises he'll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can't,' she told AFP. MSF said that patients at its Gaza clinics do not heal properly from their wounds due to protein deficiency and that the lack of food causes infections to last longer than they would in healthy individuals. Hamas's 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers these figures to be reliable.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Malay Mail
‘We have nothing to feed them': Gaza's children cry for food, but there's nothing left
NUSEIRAT (Palestinian Territories), July 21 — As malnutrition surges in war-torn Gaza, tens of thousands of children and women require urgent treatment, according to the UN, while aid enters the blockaded Palestinian territory at a trickle. Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP it has noted a rising number of infant deaths caused by 'severe hunger and malnutrition', reporting at least three such deaths in the past week. 'These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,' civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza's north to the central city of Nuseirat, told AFP: 'We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it.' 'Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food. 'And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous — no one can afford it.' At a food distribution site in a UN-school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat on Sunday, children entertained themselves by banging on their plates as they waited for their turn. Several of them had faces stretched thin by hunger, an AFP journalist reported. Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, said she had lost 35 kilograms (77 pounds). 'We do not eat enough. I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter,' she said, adding that she had a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes. The father of Yahya Fadi al-Najjar, who died due to malnourishment, holds his body during the funeral at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 20, 2025. — AFP pic Depleted stocks Gazans as well as the UN and aid organisations frequently complain that depleted stocks have sent prices skyrocketing for what little food is available in the markets. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned in early July that the price of flour for bread was 3,000 times more expensive than before the war began more than 21 months ago. WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, described the situation as 'the worst I've ever seen'. 'A father I met had lost 25 kilograms in the past two months. People are starving, while we have food just across the border,' he said in a statement. After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May. As stocks accumulated during the ceasefire gradually depleted, the Palestinian territory experienced the worst shortages since the start of the war. 'Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it,' said Skau. 'I'm always hungry' The effects of malnutrition on children and pregnant women can be particularly dire. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said last week that its teams are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by its teams in Gaza. 'Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation levels, many babies are being born prematurely,' said Joanne Perry, an MSF doctor in Gaza. 'Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator.' Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, said she thinks of food constantly. 'I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', and he promises he'll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can't,' she told AFP. MSF said that patients at its Gaza clinics do not heal properly from their wounds due to protein deficiency, and that the lack of food causes infections to last longer than they would in healthy individuals. Hamas's 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers these figures to be reliable. — AFP
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Gulf Today
Children's condition worsens in Gaza due to malnutrition, poor healthcare
As malnutrition surges in war-torn Gaza, tens of thousands of children and women require urgent treatment, according to the UN, while aid enters the blockaded Palestinian territory at a trickle. Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP it has noted a rising number of infant deaths caused by 'severe hunger and malnutrition,' reporting at least three such deaths in the past week. 'These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,' civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza's north to the central city of Nuseirat, told AFP: 'We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it.' 'Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food. 'And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous — no one can afford it.' At a food distribution site in a UN-school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat on Sunday, children entertained themselves by banging on their plates as they waited for their turn. Several of them had faces stretched thin by hunger, an AFP journalist reported. Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, said she had lost 35 kilogrammes. 'We do not eat enough. I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter,' she said, adding that she had a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes. 85 MORE AID SEEKERS KILLED Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of Palestinians trying to collect humanitarian aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory on Sunday, killing 85 people and wounding dozens more. The UN World Food Programme said its 25-truck convoy carrying food aid 'encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire' near Gaza City, soon after it crossed from Israel and cleared checkpoints. In Gaza City, Qasem Abu Khater, 36, told AFP he had rushed to try to get a bag of flour but instead found a desperate crowd of thousands and 'deadly overcrowding and pushing.' 'The tanks were firing shells randomly at us and Israeli sniper soldiers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest,' he added. 'Dozens of people were martyred right before my eyes and no one could save anyone.' Gazans as well as the UN and aid organisations frequently complain that depleted stocks have sent prices skyrocketing for what little food is available in the markets. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned in early July that the price of flour for bread was 3,000 times more expensive than before the war began more than 21 months ago. WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, described the situation as 'the worst I've ever seen.' 'A father I met had lost 25 kilogrammes in the past two months. People are starving, while we have food just across the border,' he said in a statement. After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May. As stocks accumulated during the ceasefire gradually depleted, the Palestinian territory experienced the worst shortages since the start of the war. 'Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it,' said Skau. 'I'M ALWAYS HUNGRY' The effects of malnutrition on children and pregnant women can be particularly dire. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said last week that its teams are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by its teams in Gaza. 'Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation levels, many babies are being born prematurely,' said Joanne Perry, an MSF doctor in Gaza. 'Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator.' Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, said she thinks of food constantly. 'I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', and he promises he'll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can't,' she told AFP. MSF said that patients at its Gaza clinics do not heal properly from their wounds due to protein deficiency, and that the lack of food causes infections to last longer than they would in healthy individuals. Hamas's 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Agence France-Presse
The Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Gaza malnutrition crisis worsens as children suffer most
NUSEIRAT: Malnutrition in Gaza has reached alarming levels, with tens of thousands of children and women in urgent need of treatment, according to the UN. Aid remains scarce as the humanitarian crisis deepens in the war-torn Palestinian territory. Gaza's civil defence agency reported a rise in infant deaths due to severe hunger and malnutrition, with at least three fatalities in the past week. 'These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,' said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal. Displaced families struggle to find food, with prices skyrocketing due to depleted stocks. Ziad Musleh, a father sheltering in Nuseirat, shared his despair: 'We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it. Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs.' At a UN-run shelter, children waited for food, their faces visibly thin from hunger. Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, who lost 35 kilograms, said, 'I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter.' The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned that flour prices are now 3,000 times higher than before the war. WFP director Carl Skau described the situation as 'the worst I've ever seen,' with people starving despite food being available just across the border. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported record malnutrition cases, particularly among pregnant women and children. 'Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator,' said MSF doctor Joanne Perry. Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old from Khan Yunis, said, 'I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', but there is none.' The crisis follows Israel's blockade after ceasefire talks collapsed, leading to severe shortages. The UN considers Gaza's health ministry figures reliable, reporting over 58,895 Palestinian deaths, mostly civilians, since the conflict began. - AFP
France 24
3 days ago
- Health
- France 24
Malnutrition reaches new heights in Gaza, children most affected
Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP it has noted a rising number of infant deaths caused by "severe hunger and malnutrition", reporting at least three such deaths in the past week. "These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza's north to the central city of Nuseirat, told AFP: "We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it." "Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food. "And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous -- no one can afford it." At a food distribution site in a UN-school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat on Sunday, children entertained themselves by banging on their plates as they waited for their turn. Several of them had faces stretched thin by hunger, an AFP journalist reported. Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, said she had lost 35 kilograms (77 pounds). "We do not eat enough. I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter," she said, adding that she had a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes. Depleted stocks Gazans as well as the UN and aid organisations frequently complain that depleted stocks have sent prices skyrocketing for what little food is available in the markets. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned in early July that the price of flour for bread was 3,000 times more expensive than before the war began more than 21 months ago. WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, described the situation as "the worst I've ever seen". "A father I met had lost 25 kilograms in the past two months. People are starving, while we have food just across the border," he said in a statement. After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May. As stocks accumulated during the ceasefire gradually depleted, the Palestinian territory experienced the worst shortages since the start of the war. "Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it," said Skau. -'I'm always hungry' - The effects of malnutrition on children and pregnant women can be particularly dire. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said last week that its teams are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by its teams in Gaza. "Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation levels, many babies are being born prematurely," said Joanne Perry, an MSF doctor in Gaza. "Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator." Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, said she thinks of food constantly. "I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', and he promises he'll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can't," she told AFP. MSF said that patients at its Gaza clinics do not heal properly from their wounds due to protein deficiency, and that the lack of food causes infections to last longer than they would in healthy individuals. Hamas's 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers these figures to be reliable.
