Key points
- Israeli attacks kill several aid seekers in Gaza
- Gaza hospitals record seven new deaths from “famine and malnutrition”: Al Jazeera
- UN expresses grave concern over growing number of starvation-related deaths in Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip continues, with at least 27 Palestinians killed since dawn on Thursday, including several aid seekers, Al Jazeera reported.
Gaza’s spiralling humanitarian crisis prompted the main world hunger monitoring body on Tuesday to say a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, according to Reuters.
“Famine and malnutrition”
Al Jazeera reported that Gaza hospitals record seven new deaths from “famine and malnutrition”, raising the total hunger-related death toll to 154, including 89 children, since October 2023.
The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the growing number of starvation-related deaths among Palestinians in Gaza, according to Arab News.
She described the starving of civilians as ‘lethal, inhumane and degrading,’ and called for the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the battered enclave.
“Shocking reports”
“Depriving people of food, water, and dignity has been a serious and recurring violation of this war and it must end,” she said, citing “shocking” reports of people being killed while queuing for food, as well as widespread hunger and malnutrition.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, citing the need for a two-state solution to the conflict.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 60,138 people and wounded 146,269 others, according to Al Jazeera.
