Increasing numbers of newborns in Gaza on brink of death, WHO warns
Dr Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), has said that increasing numbers of children in Gaza are on the “brink of death” from acute hunger.
“What doctors and medical staff are telling us is more and more they are seeing the effects of starvation; they’re seeing newborn babies simply dying because they [are] too low birth weight,” Harris told reporters in Geneva.
“Increasingly, we’re seeing children that are at the point, brink of death that need re-feeding,” she said.
Medical teams in Gaza have also been admitting increasing numbers of dangerously underweight pregnant women, she said, the kind of complications that happen “if you’re trying to carry a pregnancy and you lack the nutrition,” she said, adding that the hunger crisis in Gaza was purely a result of war and “entirely man-made”.
Women, children wounded in Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp
We’ve been reporting on an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp that killed at least 27 people and wounded many more.
The injured were taken to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.
An injured Palestinian woman walks in the emergency area in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah on March 19
Israeli attack on a family home in Gaza City kills 15 people
Israeli forces have kept up a relentless campaign of attacks on Gaza City, flattening homes and killing dozens of people.
One such attack on Tuesday destroyed a house owned by the Miqbil family, killing 15 people and trapping many others under the rubble.
“This is my brother’s house. Unfortunately, women, children and the neighbours were struck here. They were peaceful people, sleeping after their last meal before fasting,” said a relative of the owner of the house.
US Congress deal to ban UNRWA funding until March 2025: Report
An agreement between US congressional leaders and the White House on a bill funding military, State Department and other government programmes will continue to block UNRWA funding until March 2025, the Reuters news agency reports, citing two unnamed sources.
The sources familiar with the agreement said alternative efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza would be discussed after the legislation is made public, Reuters reported.
US senator says Canada ‘absolutely right’ to stop arms sales to Israel
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has hailed Canada’s parliament for voting to halt arms sales to Israel, saying the US should follow suit and “not provide another nickel for Netanyahu’s war machine”.
“They are absolutely right to do so. Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation,” he wrote in a post on X.
Earlier we reported that Canadian FM, Mélanie Joly, said her government will implement a non-binding resolution calling for an end to the “further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime”.
Canada’s parliament has voted to stop arms sales to Israel. They are absolutely right to do so. Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation, the U.S. should not provide another nickel for Netanyahu’s war machine.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 19, 2024
