Israel resumes airdrop aid to Gaza, military says
The military also said in a separate statement that designated humanitarian corridors would be established to enable the safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to the Gaza population, and that humanitarian pauses would be implemented in densely populated areas.
'The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,' it added.
Palestinian sources confirmed that aid has begun dropping in northern Gaza.
Israel has faced mounting criticism from aid agencies, which accuse it of restricting aid delivery. The World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the crisis as 'man-made mass starvation'.
Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's 2.2 million people.
Israel has also accused the United Nations of failing to act in a timely fashion, saying 700 truckloads of aid were idling inside Gaza.
'The IDF emphasizes that there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas,' the Israeli military said in its Saturday statement.
'Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organizations. Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.'
More than 125 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday.
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Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Israel begins pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas as hunger concerns mount
The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of a series of steps that included multiple airdrops as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war. The military said it would begin a daily 'tactical pause' in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid' entering the territory. The pause was running from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time and was to be repeated each day until further notice. In a sign of how precarious the situation remained for people in Gaza, shortly after the pause began, Gaza health officials said an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed a woman and her four children. A second strike killed four people, including a young boy, his mother and his grandfather, in the eastern Zaytoun neighbourhood, health officials said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. 'Every delay is measured by another funeral' Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes from late Saturday into Sunday, including 23 people seeking aid. As part of the eased restrictions, the military also said that it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery. It also said it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food. Jordan announced it had carried out three airdrops over the skies of Gaza, including one in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. It said the cargo planes had dropped 25 tons of food and supplies on several locations in Gaza. The United Nations' food agency welcomed the steps to ease aid restrictions, but said a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza. UNICEF called it 'an opportunity to save lives.' Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the latest steps remained 'far from adequate to address the staggering needs in Gaza.' She called for the opening of all crossings and unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza. Dr Muneer al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, called for a flood of medical supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition. 'This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives,' he said. 'Every delay is measured by another funeral.' Negotiating teams recalled The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with the militant group. Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused to agree to. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said that Israel's change of tack on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement that there were starving Palestinians in Gaza and that the move was meant to improve its international standing and not save lives. He said that Israel 'will not escape punishment and will inevitably pay the price for these criminal practices.' Famine-like conditions After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies completely to Gaza for 2 ½ months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks. As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN's control, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which in May opened four centres distributing boxes of food. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says. Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians. The military said the new steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid. The World Food Programme said that a third of Gaza's population of around 2 million were not eating for days and nearly half a million were enduring famine-like conditions. It said it had enough food in or on its way to the region to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months. At least 38 killed in latest strikes The Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 13 people, including four children and a woman, and wounded 101 as they were headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza. GHF, which denies involvement in any of the violence near its sites, said there were no incidents at or near its sites. The military said it was looking into the report. Ten other people were killed seeking aid in multiple areas of Gaza, including northwestern Gaza City, where more than 50 people were wounded, hospital officials and medics said. The military, which had no immediate comment on the strikes, announced Sunday that two more soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the total number to 898 since October 7, 2023. The war began with Hamas' October 2023 attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Starvation crisis in Gaza: Hospitals struggle as babies die, medical staff collapse from hunger
Starvation is silently devastating Gaza as the humanitarian crisis deepens with every passing day. Hospitals struggle to care for patients and newborns amid crippling shortages of food, medical supplies, and vital nutrients. Nurses faint from hunger, doctors face impossible choices, and infants are given only water to survive. With a blockade choking aid deliveries and food prices soaring, Gaza's most vulnerable, especially children and mothers, are paying the highest price in what experts call a deliberate weaponization of starvation, the NYT reported. Hospitals on the brink: Staff fainting, formula running out In Gaza's few remaining hospitals, a grim scene unfolds: nurses fainting from hunger and dehydration, patients and staff going without meals, and doctors running out of life-saving formula and nutritional fluids. Newborns are sometimes given only water, a deadly stopgap. Critical shortages: IV fluids and malnourished infants At least three major hospitals lack the intravenous fluids necessary to treat malnourished children and adults. Doctors describe helplessly managing the decline of starving infants, unable to safely flood their weakened bodies with nutrients without risking fatal complications. Doctors speak out: 'Man-made starvation' as a weapon 'I have seen babies brought in starving and malnourished, unable to be saved,' Dr Ambereen Sleemi, an American surgeon volunteering in Gaza, was quoted by the NYT as saying. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Unsold 2021 Cars Now Almost Free - Prices May Surprise You Unsold Cars | Search Ads Learn More Undo British volunteer Dr Nick Maynard called it 'man-made starvation', a weapon of war that will claim countless more lives unless aid reaches Gaza immediately. Starvation deaths surge amid war Starvation deaths have surged in recent weeks, with 56 Palestinians dying of hunger just this month alone, nearly half of all such deaths since the war began 22 months ago, according to Gaza's health ministry. Medical staff collapsing amid shortages Medical staff, already stretched thin treating war wounds, now collapse in operating rooms and wards due to severe malnutrition and exhaustion. Hospitals face desperate shortages of antibiotics, painkillers, and special feeding drips. Blockade chokes aid, puts lives at risk The crisis is driven by a months-long blockade on aid imposed by Israel, which has severely restricted food and medical supplies entering Gaza. While some aid now trickles in, distribution is controlled by Israeli-backed contractors and limited to a few sites far from many Palestinians, forcing people to risk deadly military fire just to reach food. Infants and mothers starving: The deadly toll 'The immediate cause of death for many infants is simple: They do not get enough to eat, and neither do their mothers,' said Dr Hani al-Faleet, pediatric consultant at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Starvation triggers other health crises Starvation also worsens other conditions. Malnourished mothers suffer miscarriages and premature births; babies born too weak to survive; and infections and immune collapse rise sharply. Astronomical food prices push families to the edge Food prices in Gaza have skyrocketed, a kilogram of flour costs up to $30, tomatoes and rice nearly as much, making even basic sustenance unaffordable for most. Israel defends blockade, critics call it a 'blockade on life' Israel defends its blockade and new aid system as necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies. However, humanitarians and many doctors reject this claim, calling it a blockade on life. Staff burden 'immense' as malnutrition hits medical teams Dr Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza's largest hospital, said the burden on medical staff is 'immense,' with some fainting in emergency wards due to lack of food. A mother's struggle: Baby salam's fight for life The story of baby Salam Barghouth, three months old and severely malnourished, epitomizes the crisis. Her mother, Hanin, is too weak to leave home, and formula costs $120 a container, out of reach for most. Salam was born during war and now fights for survival amid starvation. More children suffer in silence: Yazan's story Elsewhere in Gaza, children like two-year-old Yazan Abu al-Foul suffer in silence, denied inpatient care due to equipment shortages. His family cannot feed him adequately. Doctors' warning: Urgent action needed to prevent more deaths Doctors warn: without urgent international intervention, more children and adults will die, victims of a slow-moving famine in one of the world's most embattled regions.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
WHO says malnutrition reaching 'alarming levels' in Gaza
Palestinians gather to receive food from charity kitchen, in Gaza City GENEVA: Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives. "Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July," the WHO said in a statement. Of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July -- including 24 children under five, one child aged over five, and 38 adults, it added. "Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting," the UN health agency said. "The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives." Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, the WHO said, citing its Nutrition Cluster partners. It said the percentage of children aged six to 59 months suffering from acute malnutrition had tripled in the city since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Palestinian territory. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo In Khan Yunis and middle Gaza, those rates have doubled in less than a month, it added. "These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities," the WHO said. Israel on Sunday began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. But the WHO called for sustained efforts to "flood" the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food, and for the expedited delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, plus essential medicines and supplies. "This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration", the Geneva-based agency said.
