Gaza

 

TOP OF THE AGENDA 'New and astonishing levels of desperation' in Gaza, UN warns

The World Food Programme has said that malnutrition in Gaza is surging, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. Credit: Reuters Almost one in three people in Gaza are going days without eating, the UN's food aid agency has warned, as it described "new and astonishing levels of desperation". Amongst those suffering are Hedaya al-Muta'wi and her 18-month-old son Mohammed, who is malnourished. The pair were widely pictured this week, and now Hedaya has spoken to the BBC about her struggle to provide for her son. While Israel controls the entry of supplies into Gaza, it has repeatedly said there are no restrictions and blames Hamas for stealing food. Also on Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza in the coming days, but as BBC Verify notes, this has gone wrong in the past with reportedly deadly consequences, and has been criticised as inefficient by aid agencies.

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