Nearly A Third Of People In Gaza Not Eating For Days - UN Warns

Almost one in three people in the Gaza Strip are going for days without eating, the UN's food aid programme has warned. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement. Warnings of starvation in Gaza have intensified this week. Nine more people died of malnutrition on Friday, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas-run health ministry - bringing the total such deaths since the war began to 122.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that one in five children in Gaza city were malnourished

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no restriction on aid getting into the territory and blames Hamas for any malnutrition. On Friday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer suggested the UK would play a role in dropping aid into Gaza by air after more than a third of MPs signed a letter calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.

A girl in Gaza rests her hand on her head, an empty pot held close as she waits under the harsh sun. Her eyes, tired yet full of quiet strength, reflect the burden no child should bear - the ache of hunger, the confusion of conflict, and the longing for a simple, peaceful life.

This came after an Israeli security official had said that airdrops of aid into Gaza could be allowed in the coming days - something aid agencies have previously cautioned is an inefficient way to get supplies into Gaza. News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late, but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route, Sir Starmer wrote . Sir Keir also said the UK was urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.

Hundreds of Palestinians struggling with hunger have to wait in line for hours under the scorching heat to receive food aid