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‘Skin and bone’: Israeli-made starvation crisis taking a toll on Gaza’s elderly
Hunger has carved away at the bodies of Gaza’s elderly, turning them into living skeletons. “The famine has caused me to lose weight – I dropped from 78kg [172 pounds] to just 42kg [92.6 pounds],” Riyad al-Ghazali told Al Jazeera.
“There’s no food, and we have no money to buy any. Prices are extremely high. Look at what has become of me. My hands used to be full and strong; now they’re just skin and bone,” he added. “All I eat is half a loaf of bread because that’s all we have. Sometimes I eat only salt, because there is nothing else.”
His wife, Nadia Abu Shaaban, says sometimes they go to sleep without dinner. “Many times, Riyad goes to sleep without dinner – there is just no food,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Gaza’s nursing homes, caregivers have little to offer to their elderly patients. Some are so weak that they can no longer move.
“In recent months, we lost five elders to hunger and starvation,” Ashraf Hamada, head of the elderly care department, told Al Jazeera. “We have no basic supplies – nothing is available in markets or even charity kitchens.”
Two children among 4 Palestinians starved to death in Gaza
Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded four deaths “due to famine and malnutrition” over the past 24 hours, including two children. This brings the total number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave to 317, including 121 children, the ministry said on Telegram.
Gaza death toll rises
At least 71 Palestinians, including 22 aid seekers, have been killed and 339 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 62,966 Palestinians and injured 159,266 since October 7, 2023, the ministry added.
The total number of aid seekers killed since May 27, when Israel introduced a new aid distribution mechanism through the US-based GHF, has reached 2,180, with more than 16,046 injured, the statement said.
