People are ‘skin and bones’ because of starvation in Gaza: Humanitarian worker
Liz Allcock, head of protection at Medical Aid for Palestinians, spoke to Al Jazeera earlier from Gaza City.
Allcock has been to Gaza multiple times, but since her latest arrival nine weeks ago, she says the difference has been the “scale of starvation” and “the number of people that you see walking around who are literally skin and bones”.
“Money really has no value here when there is nothing to buy, and the total blockade on Gaza has had monumental and cumulative impact on people’s health and wellbeing … everybody in Gazan society – no matter who they are – is suffering from critical food shortages,” Allcock said, adding that 25 percent of people in Gaza were at risk of acute malnutrition.
Allcock said people were showing her their ribs as she walked around Gaza City, and putting their hands to their mouths, desperately asking for food.
She added that the scale of starvation in Gaza was “a barbaric indictment” of Israel’s “lack of adherence to its obligations”.
Aid workers ‘playing catch-up’ to save malnourished children: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Here’s more from Liz Allcock of Medical Aid for Palestinians, who spoke to Al Jazeera earlier from Gaza City.
Reacting to the news that Israel would allow for secure routes for aid deliveries, Allcock said humanitarian organisations would “have to play catch-up” to help Palestinians suffering from starvation.
“The rate at which we may be able to bring in nutritional supplements to treat these young infants is going to be outpaced at this point by the number of children who are going to die as a result of complications directly resulting from malnutrition,” Allcock said.
“If we aren’t able to scale up to the extent which we were able to during the ceasefire earlier this year, then we’re in a real battle against time,” she added.
Yasmine holds her malnourished two-month-old daughter, Teen, as they await treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on July 24
Red Cross says healthcare system in Gaza in ‘catastrophic’ condition
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has been treating Palestinians shot while waiting to receive aid and the Strip’s healthcare services are in “catastrophic” condition.
“I spoke to a mother who had gone with her 15-year-old daughter to try and access food for their family. Many of these women are now the main provider for their extended families,” Felicity Gapes, the ICRC’s deputy health coordinator in Gaza, said in a statement.
“This young girl saw her mother shot and bleeding on the ground. They told me they thought it would be safe, but now they know ‘nowhere in Gaza is safe.'”
Gapes added that Gaza’s healthcare system is in “catastrophic” condition and requires “a rapid increase in supplies, equipment, and personnel”.
On Thursday, the Red Cross Field Hospital received 17 wounded women, with 2 declared dead on arrival. Those responsive said they had been trying to access distribution sites.
The situation in Gaza is appalling.
People cannot continue to live like this. More can & must be done. pic.twitter.com/J9Uo9eO9e0
— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) July 27, 2025
