Latest news with #Mughaisib
Mint
13 hours ago
- Health
- Mint
‘Slow destruction of humanity': Doctor speaks on hunger crisis in Gaza as Israel denies ‘starvation' claims
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it would implement a daily pause in operations in parts of Gaza and open new aid corridors, following months of international pressure over a growing hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Global concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has strengthened, especially after Israel and the US appeared to step away from ceasefire talks with Hamas on Friday, stating that the group had made it clear it was not interested in reaching a deal. Aid organisations said last week that severe hunger is widespread among Gaza's 2.2 million residents, with food supplies running critically low after Israel halted all deliveries in March. Though aid resumed in May, it came with tighter restrictions. Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, deputy medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), explained that within the first six to 24 hours without food, the body starts consuming its glycogen stores for energy. In an Instagram video, Mughaisib said, 'For the past months, I have been surviving on one meal per day. And in the last few days, I have even had only one meal every two days. Not because I cannot afford it, but because there is nothing to buy. The markets are completely empty. We are expected to save lives while our own are slowly being consumed. This is not just about hunger, but about the slow destruction of life, ability, and humanity.' According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas, dozens have recently died due to malnutrition. Since the conflict began, a total of 127 people, among them 85 children, have died from hunger-related causes. EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - A morgue worker shows journalists the body of 5-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Halib, who died from malnutrition-related causes, according to Dr. Ahmed al-Farah, head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital, before her funeral, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga) Israel has denied that starvation is occurring in Gaza, saying the aid suspension was intended to increase pressure on Hamas to release the hostages it still holds. After allowing aid into Gaza in May, Israel claimed there was sufficient food in the territory but accused the United Nations of failing to distribute it properly. In response, the UN stated it was doing its best under the constraints imposed by Israeli restrictions. The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a deadly assault in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. In the months since, Israel's military campaign against Hamas has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory. The offensive has devastated much of Gaza and displaced nearly its entire population. (With inputs from agencies)
NDTV
a day ago
- Health
- NDTV
"Body Sacrifices Own Tissue": Gaza Doctor On The Impact Of Starvation
Gaza is now effectively starving. A doctor inside the besieged enclave has now delivered a chilling breakdown of how starvation shuts down the human body, from initial hunger pangs to the collapse of vital organs. Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, deputy medical coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), explained that in the first six to 24 hours without food, the body begins burning through its glycogen reserves. These are stored sugars that serve as emergency fuel. By day one to three, once glycogen is depleted, the body switches to using fat, converting it into ketones to keep the brain functioning. At this point, the body enters a state of full survival mode. From two to five days, the toll becomes severe. The body begins breaking down its own muscle tissue, including vital organs like the heart, in a desperate attempt to stay alive. "The body sacrifices its own tissue just to survive," Dr Mughaisib explains. "This is when children stop crying." Dr Mughaisib is not only describing starvation, he is living it. "For the past months, I have been surviving on one meal per day," he said. "And in the last few days, I have even had only one meal every two days. Not because I cannot afford it, but because there is nothing to buy. The markets are completely empty." Recent reports detail how health workers are collapsing from hunger while transporting patients. Ambulance drivers are starving. Children are dying. "We are expected to save lives while our own are slowly being consumed," the doctor said. "This is not just about hunger, but about the slow destruction of life, ability, and humanity." "This has to stop. To use food, water, and aid as weapons in this world, it's not acceptable at all," he added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (@doctorswithoutborders) Israel's war on Gaza has now entered its 21st month, and the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. Since October 7, 2023, close to 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 142,500 injured, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. At least 17,400 children are among the dead, one of the highest child death tolls. UN agencies warn that Gaza is now on the brink of famine. Over 470,000 people, including 71,000 children under five, are starving. Israel's full blockade, in place since March 2, has cut off nearly all access to food, medicine, fuel, and aid. More than 1,060 people have been killed trying to reach food distribution points. UN and human rights organisations continue to accuse Israeli authorities of using starvation as a weapon, a claim Israel rejects, arguing administrative challenges and Hamas interference are the cause.
Egypt Independent
11-07-2025
- Health
- Egypt Independent
Children queuing at Gaza health center killed in Israeli strike, medics say
An Israeli strike killed 15 people, including women and children, gathered outside a health center in the central Gazan city of Deir Al Balah on Thursday, according to medical staff and officials in the enclave. The Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza said eight of those killed in the strike were children, with the youngest two years old, and the oldest aged 14. It said three women and four men were also killed. In footage obtained by CNN, several children were seen lying motionless and others appeared injured amid the sound of screams. Another video showed several children, bloodied and lying motionless, being transported on a cart. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas militant who took part in the group's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. 'The (Israel Defense Forces) is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals in the area. The incident is under review. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,' the Israeli military said in a statement to CNN. The director general of Gaza's health ministry said the strike hit near a medical center dispensing children's formula to women. Project HOPE, an American aid organization, said the strike occurred 'directly in front' of one of its health clinics, where people were waiting to receive treatment for 'malnutrition, infections, chronic illnesses, and more.' The organization's CEO Rabih Torbay told CNN the location of the clinic had been shared with the Israeli military. 'It was a deconflicted site,' Torbay said. 'Project HOPE's health clinics are a place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and postpartum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more,' he said in a statement. 'Yet, this morning, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open,' he continued. 'Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore.' Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, MSF's deputy medical coordinator for Palestine, said this is not the first time health facilities have been targeted directly or indirectly. Speaking to CNN from Al Mawasi in southern Gaza, Mughaisib stressed that there has been no improvement in access to aid and medicine despite Israel's partial lifting of the blockade on Gaza. 'Every day there is hundreds of people killed and injured when they are going (to the aid distribution points) to pick their food kits or parcels,' he said adding, 'In the market you don't find food. I mean, the bakeries are closed.' Mughaisib told CNN Gaza's population is 'totally exhausted, broken, tired,' saying 'hope is really a fragile word in Gaza.' Israel has intensified its strikes and expanded a ground operation on parts of Gaza as negotiators in Doha continue talks to release hostages, establish a temporary truce and allow the entry of more humanitarian aid to the devastated strip. Almost 3,000 Palestinians were killed over the past month in Gaza, according to the enclave's health ministry. Meanwhile, Hamas have continued conducting guerilla-style attacks against the Israeli military, killing more than 20 soldiers in different parts of the strip over the same period, including five soldiers killed this week in the northern city of Beit Hanoun. On Thursday, a 20-year-old Israeli man was killed in an attack at the Gush Etzion junction south of Jerusalem, according to the Israeli military and medical services. The IDF said two Palestinian 'terrorists' had 'conducted a combined shooting and stabbing attack' before being 'eliminated.' Gush Etzion is a settlement cluster in the occupied West Bank. A security source later told CNN that the two attackers were Palestinian Authority policemen with no prior records in Israel or prior arrests. CNN has reached out to the Palestinian Authority for comment.
