Gaza
\nHealth Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that 289 Palestinians, including 115 children, have died of starvation amid the ongoing famine crisis in the enclave.
\nMunir al-Bursh, director of the ministry, told Al Jazeera that the situation required a massive humanitarian response, warning that authorities were \u201cin a race against time to address famine.\u201d
\nHe said eight Palestinians, including a child, had died from food shortages in the past 24 hours.
\nMoreover, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed across the enclave medical sources reported. The victims included at least seven aid seekers who were killed while waiting for food near distribution points. In the latest 24-hour reporting period, the bodies of 64 people and 278 injured Palestinians have been brought to hospitals across the besieged enclave, hospital officials said.
\nHospital sources said at least five of the victims were shot while waiting for food near distribution points run by the US-backed GHF.
\nSince the start of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operations, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded while seeking aid, according to figures cited by the UN. Of these, 766 people died near GHF aid points, while another 288 were killed near UN or other convoys. At least 516 deaths and nearly 3,800 injuries were documented within the first month alone.
\nDespite this, the US announced $30 million in funding for GHF, even as rights groups accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon. The death toll from aid queues continues to rise, underscoring how the blockade and GHF\u2019s controversial role have combined to make humanitarian relief both scarce and deadly.
\nMeanwhile, the head of the children\u2019s department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis warned the health crisis in southern Gaza had reached \u201ca catastrophic level,\u201d saying the facility could no longer cope with the surge in malnourished children, Al Jazeera reports.
\n\u201cOne in four children in Gaza is already suffering from malnutrition, and between 60,000 and 75,000 children in southern Gaza alone are at risk,\u201d Dr Ahmed al-Farra said, describing the figures as \u201chorrifying and unprecedented.\u201d
\nAccording to him, 25 children are currently hospitalised in critical condition, with some lying on the floor due to a lack of beds. He added that some children arrive at the hospital after losing their lives outside its gates \u201cdue to lack of milk and treatment.\u201d
\nHe added that the malnutrition clinic at Nasser, which operates only two days a week, receives more than 120 cases within hours \u2014 ten times higher than before.
\nGaza City officially in famine
\nThe United Nations on Friday declared famine in Gaza City, the first such announcement in the Middle East and only the fifth-ever official declaration worldwide. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City and surrounding areas, warning that over 500,000 people face catastrophic hunger.
\n\u201cIt is a famine: the Gaza famine,\u201d said UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher, blaming Israel for the crisis and accusing it of \u201csystematic obstruction\u201d of aid deliveries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that 289 Palestinians, including 115 children, have died of starvation amid the ongoing famine crisis in the enclave. Munir al-Bursh, director of the ministry, told Al Jazeera that the situation required a massive humanitarian response, warning that authorities were \u201cin a race against time to address famine.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-498791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n