Gaza mother worries time running out for evacuation of malnourished daughter
GAZA CITY - Stroking the hair of her emaciated daughter on a hospital bed in Gaza City, Nasma Ayad fears time is running out for a medical evacuation of the malnourished eight-year-old to avoid the fate of her sister, who died last month.
"I feel I'm slowly losing my daughter, day after day - everything she's suffering from is multiplying," Ayad said.
With few medical supplies and limited food, treating malnourished Palestinian children with complicated conditions in war-shattered Gaza has become increasingly difficult, according to medical staff and humanitarian agencies.
Jana received treatment for malnutrition last year at an International Medical Corps clinic in the central town of Deir al-Balah after showing signs of weakness and delayed growth.
Though she improved, the frequent interruption of healthcare services and increasing scarcity of food - as Israeli forces who control all access to Gaza have kept up their offensive against Hamas militants - led to a relapse, Ayad said.
She weighs just 11 kilograms (24 pounds) and has trouble seeing, speaking or standing up.
"She started having an edema, which is fluid retention that makes the limbs and the body swell and store water because of the lack of protein and food," said Suzan Marouf, a therapeutic nutritionist at Patient Friend's Benevolent Society Hospital.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam
Business Singapore's US tariff rate stays at 10%, but the Republic is not out of the woods yet
World As China-US tariff truce talks drag on, what are prospects for a 'big deal' for Trump?
Singapore Thundery showers expected on most days in first half of August
Singapore SPH Media awards three journalism scholarships to budding newsroom talent
Singapore Synapxe chief executive, MND deputy secretary to become new perm secs on Sept 1
Singapore 5 women face capital charges after they were allegedly found with nearly 27kg of cocaine in S'pore
Business Sumo Salad had valid insurance coverage for work injury claims: MOM
Jana's sister, Joury, died on July 20. The child had kidney problems exacerbated by malnutrition, her mother said.
Gaza's spiralling humanitarian crisis prompted the main world hunger monitoring body on Tuesday to assess that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding, and that immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked many around the world.
Gazan health authorities have reported more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total now stands at 156, among them 90 children, most of whom died in the past few weeks.
Ayad had hoped both her girls could be evacuated to safety to receive treatment outside the Gaza Strip. Health officials had added them to a list of patients who were in need of evacuation last September.
But the evacuations never transpired. Though it was too late for Joury, her mother still holds out some hope for Jana.
"I am calling for the urgent referral of Jana as soon as possible to be treated outside the country," she said.
With the international furore over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was still not getting the permissions needed to deliver sufficient aid.
Israel and the U.S. accuse Hamas of stealing aid - which the Islamist group denies - and the U.N. of failing to prevent this. The United Nations says it has seen no evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon, which the Israeli government denies. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack, death certificate shows
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE — Ozzy Osbourne performs during a 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert, at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Oct. 30, 2009. Osbourne, the heavy metal and reality television star, died of a heart attack and had suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's, according to a death certificate filed at a registry in London. (Chad Batka/The New York Times) EDINBURGH, Scotland – Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal and reality television star , died of a heart attack and had suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's, according to a death certificate filed at a registry in London. The document, which was submitted by Osbourne's daughter Aimée Osbourne, lists cardiac arrest and coronary artery disease among the causes, noting that he had Parkinson's disease. Osbourne's occupation is recorded as 'Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend.' The certificate says Osbourne died of '(a) Out of hospital cardiac arrest (b) Acute myocardial infarction (c) Coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease with autonomic dysfunction (Joint Causes).' The New York Times obtained the document on Aug 5. On July 22, the day of Osbourne's death, an air ambulance flew to the singer's home near the village of Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire, England. A spokesperson for Thames Valley Air Ambulance service said in an email that its team had been 'dispatched to provide advanced critical care at an incident near Chalfront St. Giles on July 22,' but gave no further details. After stopping near the singer's home, the ambulance flew about 13km south-west to Harefield Hospital, in Uxbridge, a London suburb, according to Flightradar24, a company that collates data on aircraft movements. The helicopter spent 'about an hour' at the hospital with its engines running, a Flightradar24 spokesperson said. When Osbourne's family announced his death on July 22, they did not state a cause, although the 76-year-old singer had received treatment for numerous health problems in recent years, including a variant of Parkinson's and spinal damage. He told a radio station in February that he could no longer walk. Many heavy metal fans had feared this year that Osbourne was reaching the end of his life, especially after his wife, Sharon, announced in February that he would perform what the family expected to be his last concert. That performance, held July 5 at a soccer stadium in Birmingham, England, was staged just a few minutes' walk from Osbourne's childhood home. (From left to right) Ozzy Osbourne's son Louis, daughter Aimee, son Jack, widow Sharon and daughter Kelly arrive to lay flowers at the Black Sabbath Bridge bench on Broad Street in Birmingham, England on July 30. PHOTO: AFP At that concert, called 'Back to the Beginning,' Osbourne performed two brief sets: one of his solo music and a second with Black Sabbath, the band he formed in 1968 with three fellow Birmingham musicians. During those performances, Osbourne had referred to his health problems. 'I've been laid up for six years,' he told the cheering crowd at one point. 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart.' As Black Sabbath's frontman, Osbourne was widely considered one of the creators of heavy metal music. Heavy metal acts like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax have cited him as an influence. In the 2000s, Osbourne achieved a second bout of fame as a reality TV star thanks to the MTV show The Osbournes, which ran from 2002 to 2005 and documented the singer and his family's daily lives in comic fashion. On July 30, throngs of his fans flocked to Birmingham for a funeral procession in which his coffin was carried through the city in a hearse, before a private funeral. NYTIMES
AsiaOne
10 hours ago
- AsiaOne
More Gazans die seeking aid and from hunger; burial shrouds in short supply, Asia News
CAIRO/GAZA — At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Gaza on Monday (Aug 4), including 10 seeking aid, health authorities said, adding another five had died of starvation in what humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine. The 10 died in two separate incidents near aid sites belonging to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in central and southern Gaza, local medics said. The United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in the enclave since the GHF began operating in May 2025, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. The GHF said there were no incidents at or near their sites on Monday. Reuters was unable to verify where the incidents took place. Bilal Thari, 40, was among mourners at Gaza City's Al Shifa hospital on Monday who had gathered to collect the bodies of Palestinians killed a day earlier by Israeli fire as they sought aid, Gaza health officials said. "Everyone who goes there, comes back either with a bag of flour or carried back (on a wooden stretcher) as a martyr, or injured. No one comes back safe," Thari said. At least 13 Palestinians were killed on Sunday while waiting for the arrival of UN aid trucks at the Zikim crossing on the Israeli border with the northern Gaza Strip, the officials said. At the hospital, some bodies were wrapped in thick patterned blankets because white shrouds, which hold special significance in Islamic burials, were in short supply due to continued Israeli border restrictions and the mounting number of daily deaths, Palestinians said. "We don't want war, we want peace, we want this misery to end. We are out on the streets, we all are hungry, we are all in bad shape, women are out there on the streets, we have nothing available for us to live a normal life like all human beings, there's no life," Thari said. There was no immediate comment by Israel on Sunday's incident. The Israeli military said in a statement to Reuters that it had not fired earlier on Monday in the vicinity of the aid distribution centre in the southern Gaza Strip. It did not elaborate further. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, allowing airdrops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how the military should proceed in Gaza to meet all his government's war goals, which include defeating Hamas and releasing the hostages. Deaths from hunger Meanwhile, five more people died of starvation or malnutrition over the last 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said on Monday. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from hunger to 180, including 93 children, since the war began. UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease access to it. Cogat, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said that during the last week, over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organisations. Israel's military later said 120 aid packages containing food had been dropped into Gaza "over the past few hours" by six different countries in collaboration with Cogat. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that more than 600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions in late July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. Palestinian and UN officials said Gaza needs around 600 aid trucks to enter per day to meet the humanitarian requirements — the number Israel used to allow into Gaza before the war. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offencive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. [[nid:720926]]
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Italy moves to tighten controls on gender-affirming medical care for minors
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The law will regulate medicines such as puberty blockers and feminising or masculinising hormones for those under the age of 18. ROME - Italy will tighten controls on the supply of gender-affirming medical care for minors, according to a draft law approved by the government that has triggered protests from transgender rights advocates. The law, passed by the Cabinet late on Aug 4 but still subject to parliamentary approval, will regulate medicines such as puberty blockers and feminising or masculinising hormones for those under the age of 18 who are experiencing gender dysphoria. In a statement, the government said it was needed 'to protect the health of minors' and introduce 'effective data monitoring'. Gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis of significant distress that can result from an incongruence between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth. The new Bill states that gender-affirming medicines will only be dispensed following protocols yet to be drafted by the Health Ministry, and, pending that, after approval by a national ethics committee of paediatricians. It also sets up a national registry at the Italian Medicines Agency to monitor 'the correct use of (these) medicines' and collect the detailed medical histories of each transgender person undergoing treatment. 'This is a form of profiling of trans people, with all their sensitive data, in the hands of a government-nominated agency... it is extremely serious,' Ms Roberta Parigiani, a spokesperson for the Trans Identity Movement, told Reuters on Aug 5 . Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025 Business Singapore retail sales up by 2.3%, driven by sales of motor vehicles Singapore Over 5,900 vape products found in car at Woodlands Checkpoint Singapore Locally developed VR tool can detect pre-dementia with almost 90% accuracy Singapore 13 taken to hospital after accident involving SBS buses, car in Tampines Sport Singapore National Olympic Council launches book series honouring local athletes She said that introducing more layers of screening for the approval of gender-affirming medical care was concerning, as it increases the risk that treatment may be delayed for young teenagers or pre-teens waiting for it. 'It's not like you can wait one or two years,' Ms Parigiani said. Under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a self-described enemy of what she and her allies call the 'LGTB lobby' and 'gender ideology', Italy has a right-wing government that espouses so-called traditional family values. In the nearly three years that it has been in office, Ms Meloni's coalition has made it harder for same-sex couples with children to be both recognised as legal parents, and has made it illegal for any couple to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy. The draft Bill could be rejected or substantially amended by parliament, but given that Ms Meloni's coalition has a solid majority and backs its objectives, there is a high chance it will be approved. REUTERS
