‘We have nothing to feed them': Gaza's children cry for food, but there's nothing left
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
10 hours ago
- Barnama
UN: Over 87 Per Cent of Gaza Strip Under Israeli Military Orders, Militarised Zones
HAMILTON (Canada), July 22 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The United Nations (UN) said on Monday that 87.7 per cent of the Gaza Strip lies within Israeli militarised zones, under displacement orders, or in areas where the two overlap, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that '87.7 per cent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within displacement zones, squeezing about 2.1 million people into a fragmented area of the Strip where hardly any services are available.' Emphasising that more than 1.3 million people in Gaza are in need of shelter and household items, Dujarric said: 'Harsh weather, humidity, overcrowding and frequent disassembly and reassembly of tents and tarpaulins lead to a shorter lifespan for shelter items.' bootstrap slideshow He highlighted the 'dire' situation in the enclave, where no shelter supplies have entered for more than four months. 'The fuel crisis continues.' 'The limited quantities that have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days are hardly sufficient,' he said, adding that the UN is prioritising the use of available fuel for 'the most critical operations.' Dujarric also emphasised the 'deeply concerning reports of severely malnourished people who are arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health' amid ongoing Israeli attacks. 'Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported that more than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours,' he said, describing the situation on the ground as 'nearly impossible.' According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 86 people – including 76 children – have died from hunger and dehydration since October 2023. Gaza's government media office warned the enclave is 'on the brink of mass death' after over 140 days of a near-total closure of all crossings. Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave, nearly collapsed its health system, and created famine-like conditions.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel sends tanks into Gaza's Deir al-Balah
Deir al-Balah is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza. (AP pic) CAIRO : Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time today, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes some of the remaining hostages may be held. The area is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of whom fled west or south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it sought to destroy Hamas capabilities and infrastructure. Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said. To the south in Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike killed at least five people, including a husband and wife and their two children in a tent, medics said. In its daily update, Gaza's health ministry said at least 130 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the territory in the past 24 hours, one of the highest such totals in recent weeks. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis incidents. Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out of the Deir al-Balah districts is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Families of the hostages have expressed concern for their relatives and demanded an explanation from the army of how it would protect them. Gaza health officials have meanwhile warned of potential 'mass deaths' in the coming days due to worsening hunger, which has killed at least 19 people since Saturday, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Hunger Israel's military campaign in Gaza has plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. (AP pic) Health officials say hospitals have been running out of fuel, food aid, and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations. Health ministry spokesman Khalil Al-Deqran said medical staff have been depending on one meal a day, and that hundreds of people flock to hospitals every day, suffering from fatigue and exhaustion because of hunger. In southern Gaza, the health ministry said an Israeli undercover unit had detained Marwan Al-Hams, head of Gaza's field hospitals, today in a raid that killed a local journalist and wounded another outside a field medical facility run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. An ICRC spokesman said the ICRC had admitted and treated patients injured in the incident but would not comment further on their status in order to protect their privacy. It said it was 'very concerned about the safety and security' around the field hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across Gaza during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. Sending undercover forces to carry out arrests has been rare. The incursion into Deir al-Balah and escalating number of deaths appeared to be complicating the latest push for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with US backing. A Hamas official told Reuters yesterday that the resistance group was angered over the mounting death toll and the hunger crisis, and that this could affect the talks on a 60-day truce and hostage deal. Aid waiting UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said in a post on X today that it was receiving desperate messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff as food prices have increased 40-fold. 'Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale,' it said. Yesterday, the health ministry said at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for UN aid trucks to enter Gaza, after saying at least 36 aid seekers were killed a day earlier. Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots to remove what it said was 'an immediate threat'. It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated. Israel's military also said it 'views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community'. The war began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
In Syria's Sweida, bodies wait to be identified at overwhelmed hospital
The Sweida national hospital has remained open despite a dire situation involving supply shortages and water and power cuts. (EPA Images pic) SWEIDA : At the main hospital in south Syria's Sweida city, dozens of bodies are still waiting to be identified as the death count of days of sectarian clashes continues to rise. 'We have handed 361 bodies over to family members, but we still have 97 unidentified corpses,' a forensic medicine official at facility said on condition of anonymity. Clashes erupted on July 13 in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralling and drawing in government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week. More than 1,100 people, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, whose toll also includes several hundred government security personnel. Health authorities have not released a comprehensive death toll. More than 450 bodies had been taken to Sweida's main hospital by Sunday evening, while bodies were still being collected from streets and homes in the city. 'The dead bodies sent a terrible smell through all the floors of the hospital,' said nurse Hisham Breik, who said he had not left the facility since the violence began. 'The situation has been terrible. We couldn't walk around the hospital without wearing a mask,' he said, his voice trembling, adding that the wounded included women, children and the elderly. Medical personnel have been working in tough conditions at the hospital, which has seen clashes around it and has been flooded with wounded, some of whom were lying in the corridors. Bodies have yet to be removed from villages in Sweida province's north and west, the hospital administration and health workers said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that hospitals and health centres in Sweida province were out of service, with 'reports of unburied bodies raising serious public health concerns'. Humanitarian access to Sweida 'remains highly constrained', it said a statement late Sunday. 'Catastrophe' The Sweida national hospital has remained open despite the dire situation that has also included supply shortages and water and power cuts. A first Syrian Red Crescent convoy entered Sweida on Sunday carrying UN humanitarian assistance including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, OCHA said. A Red Crescent official told AFP the supplies included body bags. Another convoy facilitated by the Red Crescent was to leave Damascus on Monday, OCHA said. But as the supplies were unloaded on Sunday, activist Moatasem Aflak, who works for a body affiliated with the Sweida health department, told AFP that the aid 'doesn't cover everything required'. 'We received water and medical supplies but we need more because we are facing a medical catastrophe,' he said, adding that a list of requirements had been handed to the Red Crescent. 'We haven't yet been able to count the bodies' and some families have been unable to arrive to identify their loved ones, Aflak said. 'We are trying to cooperate with the Red Crescent to put the bodies in bags and establish a mass grave to transfer them to,' he added. According to the UN, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult.
