Latest news with #Touma
Scoop
5 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Gaza: 875 People Confirmed Dead Trying To Source Food In Recent Weeks
15 July 2025 'As of 13 July, we have recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites,' said Thameen Al-Kheetan, OHCHR spokesperson, referencing the US-Israeli run private organization which has bypassed regular humanitarian operations. The remaining 201 victims were killed while seeking food 'on the routes of aid convoys or near aid convoys' run by the UN or UN-partners still operating in the war-shattered enclave, Mr. Al-Kheetan told journalists in Geneva. Killings linked to the controversial US and Israeli-backed aid hubs began shortly after they started operating in southern Gaza on 27 May, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs. The latest deadly incident happened at around 9am on Monday 14 July, when reports indicated that the Israeli military shelled and fired towards Palestinians seeking food at the GHF site in As Shakoush area, northwestern Rafah. According to OHCHR, two Palestinians were killed and at least nine others were injured. Some of the casualties were transported to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital in Rafah. On Saturday medics there received more than 130 patients, the 'overwhelming majority' suffering from gunshot wounds and 'all responsive individuals' reporting they were attempting to access food distribution sites. Deadly hunger The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, expressed deep concerns about the continuing killing of civilians trying to access food, while deadly malnutrition spreads among children. 'Our teams on the ground - UNRWA teams and other United Nations teams - have spoken to survivors of these killings, these starving children included, who were shot at while on their way to pick up very little food,' said Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications. Speaking via video from Amman, Ms. Touma insisted that the near-total Israeli blockade of Gaza has led to babies dying of the effects of severe acute malnutrition. 'We've been banned from bringing in any humanitarian assistance into Gaza for more than four months now,' she said, before pointing to a ' significant increase' in child malnutrition since the Israeli blockade began on 2 March. Ms. Touma added: 'We have 6,000 trucks waiting in places like Egypt, like Jordan; it's from Jordan to the Gaza Strip it's a three-hour drive, right?' In addition to food supplies, these UN trucks contain other vital if basic supplies including bars of soap. ' Medicine and food are going to soon expire if we're not able to get those supplies to people in Gaza who need it most, among them one million children who are half of the population of the Gaza Strip,' Ms. Touma continued. West Bank: 'Silent war is surging' Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, Palestinians continue to be killed in violence allegedly linked to Israeli settlers and security forces, UN agencies said. According to OHCHR, two-year-old Laila Khatib was shot in the head by Israeli security forces on 25 January while she was inside her house in Ash-Shuhada village, in Jenin. On 3 July, 61-year-old Walid Badir was shot and killed by Israeli security forces, reportedly while he was cycling back home from prayers, passing through the outskirts of the Nur Shams camp, the UN rights office continued, pointing to intensifying 'killings, attacks and harassment" of Palestinians in past weeks. 'This includes the demolition of hundreds of homes and forced mass displacement of Palestinians,' OHCHR's Mr. Al-Kheetan noted, with some 30,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced since the launch of Israel's operation 'Iron Wall' in the north of the occupied West Bank earlier this year. 'We should recall that international law is very clear about this in terms of the obligations of the occupying power,' he said. 'Bringing about a permanent demographic change inside the occupied territory may amount to a war crime and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.' 'We continue to have a silent war that is surging, where heavy restrictions on movement continue, where poverty is increasing as people are cut off from their livelihoods and unemployment soars,' said UNRWA's Ms. Touma. With its current focus on the northern occupied West Bank, the Israeli military operation has impacted the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. 'It is causing the largest population displacement of the Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967,' Ms. Touma continued.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
One in 10 children in its clinics are malnourished, UN Palestinian refugee agency says
Geneva: One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday. "Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA 's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan. Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip. "One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Touma said. "Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said. On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that it has helped facilitate 67,000 food trucks to enter Gaza, delivering 1.5 million tons of food, including infant formula and baby food. It said that about 2,000 tons of baby food have been brought into Gaza through the crossings in recent weeks, following requests by international aid organizations. Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from U.N.-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the U.N. has refused to work with.
Gulf Today
6 days ago
- Health
- Gulf Today
One in 10 Gazan children screened in UNRWA clinics malnourished
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned on Tuesday of rising malnutrition rates among children in the Gaza Strip, confirming that one in every ten children is currently malnourished, according to data from its clinics and medical points across the strip. During a press briefing in Geneva, UNRWA's Director of Communications Juliette Touma said malnutrition rates have increased in Gaza, especially since the siege tightened four months ago, adding that UNRWA health teams have screened over 240,000 boys and girls across the Gaza Strip since January warned that therapeutic supplies to combat malnutrition among children are almost non-existent as UNRWA is facing severe shortages in medicines, nutritional supplies, fuel and hygiene materials, confirming that the agency ran out of food stocks late April. She noted that nearly 60 per cent of essential medicines have depleted from UNRWA's warehouses since Israeli forces banned the agency from bringing in any humanitarian aid, including food and medicines, on March 2. Palestinian mother Israa Abu Haleeb looks after her five-month-old daughter, Zainab, who is diagnosed with malnutrition, according to medics, at Nasser Hospital. Reuters On the Israeli aggression on the occupied West Bank, Touma described it as a silent war that continues to escalate in parallel with what is happening in Gaza, particularly amid severe restrictions on freedom of movement, imposed by the Israeli forces, rising poverty and unemployment due to loss of livelihoods. Palestinian children queue for a portion of hot food distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp. AFP Touma stressed that despite these challenges, UNRWA continues its operations across the occupied Palestinian territory through a 14,000-strong local workforce, delivering essential services, particularly in the fields of healthcare and education, to Palestinian refugees and others in need. WAM
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
One in 10 children in its clinics are malnourished, UN Palestinian refugee agency says
GENEVA - One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday. "Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan. Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip. "One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Touma said. "Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said. On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that it has helped facilitate 67,000 food trucks to enter Gaza, delivering 1.5 million tons of food, including infant formula and baby food. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Las Vegas Sands' new development part of S'pore's broader, more ambitious transformation: PM Wong Singapore Economic headwinds do not dampen outlook for new Marina Bay development: Las Vegas Sands president Business MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall Singapore CDL's long-time director Philip Yeo to depart after boardroom feud Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar Life The Violinist, Singapore's first animated historical film, set for August 2026 release Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years It said that about 2,000 tons of baby food have been brought into Gaza through the crossings in recent weeks, following requests by international aid organizations. Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from U.N.-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the U.N. has refused to work with. On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row. REUTERS
GMA Network
15-07-2025
- Health
- GMA Network
One in 10 children screened in UNRWA clinics are malnourished, UN Palestinian refugee agency says
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that hit a tent sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File photo GENEVA, Switzerland - One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday. "Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan. Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip. "One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Touma said. "Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said. On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave. Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from U.N.-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the U.N. has refused to work with. On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row. — Reuters
