KEY POINTS
- At least 83 children have died of starvation in Gaza
- Global pressure increases on Israel for using starvation as a weapon of war
- Gaza death toll rises to 59,676
- Death toll of journalists in Gaza soars to 232
- Gaza officials report hospitals overwhelmed with malnourished people
GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least nine more Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from hunger to 122, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Friday.
The escalating humanitarian crisis has amplified international demands for Israel to be held accountable, as aid organisations accuse it of deliberately and systematically starving the population of Gaza.
Gaza hospitals have recorded nine new deaths due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
The count brings the total number of people who have starved to death during Israel’s war on Gaza to 122, including 83 children, the ministry statement said on Telegram.
Four Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike
Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike has hit a school housing displaced people in the Remal neighbourhood in western Gaza City, killing four Palestinians and injuring a number of others.
Gaza death toll rises to 59,676
Israel’s offensive against Gaza has killed a total of 59,676 Palestinians and injured 143,965 others since October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Of these, at least 80 Palestinians, including nine aid seekers, have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, with 467 others injured.
In the same time period, nine bodies were also recovered from the rubble of the previous Israeli attacks, the ministry statement published on Telegram said.
Gaza running out of specialised food
Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for UNICEF in Amman, Jordan said that supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
“That’s really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment,” he said.
Oweis said UNICEF had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, UNICEF treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.
“Most malnutrition treatment supplies have been consumed and what is left at facilities will run out very soon if not replenished,” a World Health Organisation spokesperson said.
Gaza truce talks likely to resume next week
Gaza ceasefire talks are expected to resume next week following Israel’s review of Hamas’s latest response, according to Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV.
The outlet reported that the Israeli delegation departed a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the negotiating team for consultations.
The United States, a close ally of Israel, also withdrew its delegation from the talks for consultations on Thursday. US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not engaging in the negotiations in good faith.
In response, Hamas expressed surprise at Witkoff’s comments, stating that its position had been positively received by mediators and had paved the way for a potential comprehensive agreement.
Both sides are under growing domestic and international pressure to reach a deal.
Death toll of journalists in Gaza soars to 232
The number of journalists killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military campaign on October 7, 2023, has risen to 232, according to the Government Media Office in the besieged enclave.
In a statement, the office reported, “The number of journalists killed has now reached 232 since the beginning of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, following the killing of journalist Adam Abu Harbid.”
Adam Abu Harbid, a photojournalist who contributed to multiple media outlets, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.
According to medical sources cited by Anadolu Agency, Abu Harbid was killed along with three relatives when an Israeli helicopter strike targeted a tent near the Al-Yarmouk market.
Iran suggests Israel’s starvation of Gaza ‘premeditated’
The spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said that only the US and Israel voted against a landmark UN resolution in late 2021 that recognised access to food as a protected basic human right.
“The world stood united, and the Right to Food Resolution was endorsed by the whole UN membership while these two rejected it outright,” Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in a post on X, adding that the resolution explicitly prohibited starvation as a method of warfare.
