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Aid groups: Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished amid Israel’s blockade

Aid groups: Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished amid Israel’s blockade
Aid groups are raising new alarm over Israel’s blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where no food or other supplies have been allowed in for more than six weeks. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 17 April 2025

Aid groups: Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished amid Israel’s blockade

Aid groups: Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished amid Israel’s blockade
  • Thousands of children are malnourished, and most people are only eating one meal every other day, the UN says
  • Humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80 percent of the population, the World Food Program said

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Aid groups are raising new alarm over Israel’s blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where no food or other supplies have been allowed in for more than six weeks.
Thousands of children are malnourished, and most people are only eating one meal every other day, the United Nations says.
Israel ended a ceasefire last month and renewed its bombardment, killing hundreds of people and seizing large parts of the territory to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the deal that would speed the release of hostages. Israeli strikes overnight into Thursday killed at least 23 people, including a family of 10.
A strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed five children, four women and a man from the same family, all of whom suffered severe burns, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Strikes in northern Gaza killed 13 people, including nine children, according to the Indonesian Hospital.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because it operates in residential areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes.
Nearly all rely on charity kitchens
The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said that almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely on charity kitchens supported by aid groups, which can prepare just 1 million meals a day.
Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies, and the UN and other aid groups have been sending their remaining stocks to the charity kitchens.
The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets. But prices are spiraling and shortages are widespread, meaning humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80 percent of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for April.
“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” OCHA said.
Most people in Gaza are now down to one meal a day, said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “It’s far lower than what is needed,” she said.
Water is also growing scarce, with Palestinians standing in long lines to fill jerry cans from trucks. Omar Shatat, an official with a local water utility, said people are down to six or seven liters per day, well below the amount the UN estimates is needed to meet basic needs.
More hungry children, and they are harder to reach
In March, more than 3,600 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, up from around 2,000 the month before, according to OCHA, which said “the rapid deterioration of the nutrition situation is already visible.”
At the same time, aid groups’ ability to treat malnourished children is hampered by Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations, which resumed on March 18.
In March, the number of children under 5 that aid workers could supply with nutrient supplements fell 70 percent from February, down to 22,300 children – a fraction of the 29,000 children they aim to reach. Only 60 percent of the 173 treatment sites are operating, and demand for the dwindling supplies is rising, OCHA said.
“Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” said Amande Bazerolle, the emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.
“This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity,” she said in a statement.
Israel says the blockade is a pressure tactic
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that preventing humanitarian aid is one of the “central pressure tactics” used against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain its rule.
Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Katz said that even afterward Israel will continue to occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.
Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. It says it will only return them in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.
Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen has food for about three more weeks.
“But food is loosely defined. We have pasta and rice but nothing much beyond that. No fresh produce. There is no chicken or beef. The only thing we have is canned meat,” he said. He said 15-20 percent of the people who come to his kitchen for food leave empty-handed.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel has rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90 percent of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.


Western Wall in Jerusalem vandalized with anti-war message

Western Wall in Jerusalem vandalized with anti-war message
Updated 20 sec ago

Western Wall in Jerusalem vandalized with anti-war message

Western Wall in Jerusalem vandalized with anti-war message
  • There is a holocaust in Gaza,” was graffitied in Hebrew on the southern portion of the wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray
JERUSLAEM: The Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday was vandalized with graffiti condemning Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, triggering widespread condemnation from religious leaders and politicians.
“There is a holocaust in Gaza,” was graffitied in Hebrew on the southern portion of the wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.
A similar message was also scrawled on the wall of the Great Synagogue, elsewhere in the city.
Israeli police said a 27-year-old suspect had been arrested and would appear in court later on Monday, with the police requesting that his detention be extended.
The incident sparked immediate outrage in Israel, with the Western Wall’s Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch calling it a “desecration.”
“A holy place is not a place to express protests... The police must investigate this action, track down the criminals responsible for the desecration and bring them to justice,” Rabinovitch said in a statement.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — who oversees the country’s law enforcement agencies — said he was shocked and vowed that the police would act “with lightning speed.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also weighed in, saying the perpetrators “forgot what it means to be Jewish.”
Sharp condemnation also came from the opposition.
Former defense minister Benny Gantz, now an opposition leader, called it “a crime against the entire Jewish people.”
The Western Wall lies in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, which Israeli forces captured during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel
Updated 2 min 11 sec ago

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel
  • Dozens stood amid bombed out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday
  • A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya

GAZA CITY: Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike, with Israel calling one of them a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas.

Dozens stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday.

A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya.

Their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners, including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets.

Israel confirmed it had targeted Sharif, whom it labelled a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, saying he “posed as a journalist.”

Al Jazeera said its employees were hit in a tent set up for journalists outside the main gate of a hospital in Gaza City.

The four other staff members killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, also a correspondent, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.

“Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israeli) troops,” the military said in a statement.

“The IDF had previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip, confirming his military affiliation to Hamas,” it said.

It published a graphic showing what it said was a list of Hamas operatives in northern Gaza, including Sharif’s name, as well as an image of him emblazoned with the word: “Eliminated.”

Sharif was one of the channel’s most recognizable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports on the now 22-month-old war.

A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account on Monday morning saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza.”

According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicize events organized by the militant group that has exercised total control over Gaza since 2006.

Following online posts by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman Avichai Adraee on Sharif, the Committee to Protect Journalists called in July for his protection, accusing Israel of a “pattern” of labelling journalists militants “without providing credible evidence.”

It said the Israeli military had levelled similar accusations against other journalists in Gaza earlier in the war, including other Al Jazeera staff.

Al Jazeera called the attack that killed Sharif “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation,” as it described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists.”

It also said it followed “repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues.”

Reporters Without Borders says nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the war so far.

International reporters are prevented from traveling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional tightly controlled trips with the military.

The strike on the journalists came with criticism mounting over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand the war in the Gaza Strip.

The security cabinet voted last week to conquer the remaining quarter or so of the territory not yet controlled by Israeli troops, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, the area designated a safe zone by Israel where huge numbers of Palestinians have sought refuge.

The plan, which Israeli media reported had triggered bitter disagreement between the government and military leadership, drew condemnation from protesters in Israel and numerous countries, including Israeli allies.

Notably, the plans caused Germany, a major weapons supplier and staunch ally, to suspend shipments to Israel of any arms that could be used in Gaza.

Australia said on Sunday it would join a growing list of Western nations in recognizing a Palestinian state.

Despite the diplomatic reversals, Netanyahu remained defiant.

“We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he told journalists on Sunday.

He also retained the backing of Israel’s most important ally, the United States, with President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday any military plans were “pretty much up to Israel.”

The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have condemned the planned expansion.

“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza,” UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Sunday.

UN agencies warned last month that famine was unfolding in the territory, with Israel severely restricting the entry of aid.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.

Hamas’s October, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.


US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria

US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria
Updated 2 min 55 sec ago

US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria

US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria
  • Kayla Mueller, 26, was captured in northern Syria in August 2013 and her family and US officials confirmed her death more than a year later
  • Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by DAESH militants who declared a so called caliphate in 2014

DAMASCUS: US Congressman Abraham Hamadeh made a brief visit to Syria where he discussed with the country’s interim president the return of the body of an American aid worker who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead in the war-torn country, his office said Monday.
Hamadeh’s visit to Syria comes as a search has been underway in remote parts of the country for the remains of people who were killed by the Daesh group that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat six years ago.
Kayla Mueller, 26, was captured in northern Syria in August 2013 and her family and US officials confirmed her death more than a year later. Hamadeh, an Arizona Republican, has vowed to return Mueller’s body — which has not yet been found — to her family.
Hamadeh’s office said he was in Syria for six hours to meet President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to discuss the return of Mueller’s body to her family in Arizona. The statement added that Hamadeh also discussed the need to establish a secure humanitarian corridor for the safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to the southern province of Sweida that recently witnessed deadly clashes between pro-government fighters and gunmen from the country’s Druze minority.
A Syrian government official did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Hamadeh’s statement.
Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by IS militants who declared a so-called caliphate in 2014. The militant group lost most of its territory in Iraq in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019 when it lost the last sliver of land it controlled in east Syria.
Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people IS had abducted over the years.
American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by IS. None of the remains is believed to have been found.
Mueller, from Prescott, Arizona, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where he had been hired to fix the Internet service for the hospital. Mueller had begged him to let her tag along because she wanted to do relief work in the war-ravaged country. Alkhani was released after two months, having been beaten.
In 2015, the Pentagon said Mueller died at the hands of IS and not in a Jordanian airstrike targeting the militant group as the extremists claimed earlier.


Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel
Updated 31 min 40 sec ago

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel

Mourners gather in Gaza for funeral of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israel
  • Dozens stood amid bombed out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday
  • A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya

GAZA CITY: Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike, with Israel calling one of them a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas.
Dozens stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday.
A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
Their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets.
Israel confirmed it had targeted Sharif, whom it labelled a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, saying he “posed as a journalist.”
Al Jazeera said its employees were hit in a tent set up for journalists outside the main gate of a hospital in Gaza City.
The four other staff members killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, also a correspondent, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
“Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israeli) troops,” the military said in a statement.
“The IDF had previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip, confirming his military affiliation to Hamas,” it said.
It published a graphic showing what it said was a list of Hamas operatives in northern Gaza, including Sharif’s name, as well as an image of him emblazoned with the word: “Eliminated.”
Sharif was one of the channel’s most recognizable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports on the now 22-month-old war.


A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account on Monday morning saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza.”
According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicize events organized by the militant group that has exercised total control over Gaza since 2006.
Following online posts by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman Avichai Adraee on Sharif, the Committee to Protect Journalists called in July for his protection, accusing Israel of a “pattern” of labelling journalists militants “without providing credible evidence.”
It said the Israeli military had levelled similar accusations against other journalists in Gaza earlier in the war, including other Al Jazeera staff.
Al Jazeera called the attack that killed Sharif “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation,” as it described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists.”
It also said it followed “repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues.”
Reporters Without Borders says nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the war so far.
International reporters are prevented from traveling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional tightly controlled trips with the military.
The strike on the journalists came with criticism mounting over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand the war in the Gaza Strip.


The security cabinet voted last week to conquer the remaining quarter or so of the territory not yet controlled by Israeli troops, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, the area designated a safe zone by Israel where huge numbers of Palestinians have sought refuge.
The plan, which Israeli media reported had triggered bitter disagreement between the government and military leadership, drew condemnation from protesters in Israel and numerous countries, including Israeli allies.
Notably, the plans caused Germany, a major weapons supplier and staunch ally, to suspend shipments to Israel of any arms that could be used in Gaza.
Australia said on Sunday it would join a growing list of Western nations in recognizing a Palestinian state.
Despite the diplomatic reversals, Netanyahu remained defiant.
“We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he told journalists on Sunday.
He also retained the backing of Israel’s most important ally, the United States, with President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday any military plans were “pretty much up to Israel.”


The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have condemned the planned expansion.
“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza,” UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Sunday.
UN agencies warned last month that famine was unfolding in the territory, with Israel severely restricting the entry of aid.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
Hamas’s October, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.


Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand the offensive

Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand the offensive
Updated 11 August 2025

Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand the offensive

Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand the offensive
  • Netanyahu on Sunday said he had instructed the Israeli military to speed up its plans for the new offensive

CAIRO: Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete a new expanded offensive in the enclave “fairly quickly.”
An airstrike also killed six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif, in a tent at the Al Shifa Hospital compound.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks and planes pounded Sabra, Zeitoun, and Shejaia, three eastern suburbs of Gaza City in the north of the territory, on Monday, pushing many families out of their homes westwards. Some Gaza City residents said it was one of the worst nights in weeks, raising fears of military preparations for a deeper offensive into their city, which according to Palestinian militant group Hamas is now sheltering about 1 million people after the displacement of residents from the enclave’s northern edges.
The Israeli military said its forces fired artillery at Hamas militants in the area. There was no sign on the ground of forces moving deeper into Gaza City as part of the newly approved Israeli offensive, which is not expected to begin in the coming weeks. “It sounded like the war was restarting,” said Amr Salah, 25. “Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said its forces on Sunday dismantled a launch site east of Gaza City, which Hamas used to fire rockets toward Israeli communities across the border.
Netanyahu on Sunday said he had instructed the Israeli military to speed up its plans for the new offensive.
“I want to end the war as quickly as possible, and that is why I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to shorten the schedule for seizing control of Gaza City,” he said.
Netanyahu on Sunday said the new offensive will focus on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas’ “capital of terrorism.” He also pointed to a map and indicated that the coastal area of central Gaza may be next, saying Hamas militants have been pushed there too.
The new plans have raised alarm abroad. On Friday, Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Britain and other European allies urged Israel to reconsider its decision to escalate the Gaza military campaign.
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told Reuters that some countries appeared to be putting pressure on Israel rather than on Hamas, whose deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, ignited the war.

JOURNALISTS KILLED
The airstrike that killed Al Jazeera’s Anas Al Sharif and four of his colleagues at Al Shifa Hospital was the deadliest for journalists in the conflict so far and was condemned by journalists and rights groups.
Medics at the hospital said on Monday that local freelancer Mohammad Al-Khaldi had also died in the attack, raising the number of dead journalists from the same strike to six.
Al Sharif had previously been threatened by Israel, which confirmed it had targeted and killed him, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks against Israel. Al Jazeera rejected the claim, and before his death, Al Sharif had also rejected Israeli allegations that he had links to Hamas.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, linked his killing to the new planned offensive.
“The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain pave the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City,” it said.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 238 journalists have been killed in almost two years of war. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed.
Hamas-led fighters triggered the war in October 2023, when they stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. About 50 hostages are still in Gaza, but only around 20 are thought to be alive.
More than 61,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s campaign, according to Gaza health officials. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced multiple times and its residents are facing a humanitarian crisis, with swaths of the territory reduced to rubble.