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Doctors describe rise in infections and amputations among dangerously malnourished patients Every morning, starving mothers arrive at the doors of al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza desperately seeking baby formula. Many mothers of newborns are unable to breastfeed, the head of the hospital said, because they are so underfed.Inside the hospital, where doctors are undergoing treatment for malnutrition alongside their patients, surgeons say they are...

Humanitarian organisations working in Gaza say Israeli forces must stick to deconfliction proceduresMiddle East crisis – live updatesAid organisations working in Gaza have said they are demanding the Israeli military improve and adhere to security procedures intended to keep their workers safe, following Israeli airstrikes that killed all seven members of a convoy of humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK).“What happened is above...

PM demands ‘transparent investigation’ from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as names emerge of three Britons killed in GazaMiddle East crisis – live updatesRishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the charity World Central Kitchen who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit an aid convoy in Gaza.WSK confirmed that British victims John Chapman,...

Humanitarian groups say they cannot operate safely after Israeli targeting of food charity convoy prompts international outcry Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims?The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza seems likely to worsen after charities announced they are suspending operations in the territory in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack which repeatedly targeted a clearly identified convoy of international aid...

Exclusive: Aid officials warn that transferring Unrwa’s functions to other bodies with famine looming would be disastrousIsrael has given the UN a proposal to dismantle Unrwa, its relief agency in the Palestinian territories, and transfer its staff to a replacement agency to make large-scale food deliveries into Gaza, according to UN sources.The proposal was presented late last week by the Israeli chief of the...

National Audit Office says merging DfID with Foreign Office has led to loss of dedicated senior rolesBritain’s capability and expertise on foreign aid has been diminished since international development was merged into the Foreign Office, the UK’s public spending watchdog has found.The National Audit Office, which reports to parliament on public spending, said the transfer of the department to the Foreign Office, overseen by...

Pallets with 50% more supplies than first boat, Open Arms, being loaded in CyprusMiddle East crisis – latest updatesThe charity sending food aid to Gaza on a ship travelling across the Mediterranean from Cyprus is loading a second boat with supplies, which it hopes will set off in the coming days.Pallets containing 300 tonnes of food aid – 50% more than the first shipment...

Vessel carrying 200 tonnes of provisions to alleviate looming famine now not sailing from Larnaca on Sunday as plannedAn aid ship carrying 200 tonnes of food to alleviate looming famine in the Gaza Strip remained docked in Cyprus on Sunday night, despite the push for maritime aid in the face of stalling ceasefire talks and the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.The...

Package ‘fell down like a rocket’ on roof of house near al-Shati refugee camp where people were waiting, a witness says Five people have been killed and 10 injured in Gaza when they were hit by a pallet of aid parachuted into the territory as part of a humanitarian airdrop.Witnesses said the accident happened on Friday morning near the coastal refugee camp known as...

Trucks attacked by desperate people as logistical obstacles and restrictions imposed by Israel limit urgently needed aidA new drive by the United Nation’s World Food Programme to deliver aid to an estimated half million people at risk of famine in northern Gaza has failed amid further scenes of chaos and violence.A 14-truck convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted on Tuesday after being held...

Agency’s country director says deaths near aid convoy last week were avoidable and north of territory needs to be flooded with aidThe deaths of more than 100 people when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza was a tragedy that should have been foreseen and could have been prevented, the World Food Programme country director for Palestine has said.Matthew Hollingworth also...

Amount reaching starving territory dropped 50% in February despite severe shortages of basic necessitiesThe amount of aid reaching Gaza fell by half in February from the month before, the UN has said, as its secretary general, António Guterres, said an Israeli assault on Rafah would be “the nail in the coffin” of deliveries to the starving territory.“February registered a 50% reduction of humanitarian aid...

Shipments of food and medical supplies from Asia are having to take longer, more expensive routes to avoid seaborne assaultsAttacks by Houthi forces against ships in the Red Sea are holding up shipments of vital aid to Sudan and driving up costs for cash-strapped humanitarian agencies in the east African country, where conflict has put millions at risk of famine.The attacks mean ships carrying...

Andrew Mitchell warns of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ triggered by El Niño-driven drought and conflictThe risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in northern Ethiopia is growing, Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s Africa minister, said on his return from a two-day trip to the region.“We have an opportunity to stop a looming humanitarian catastrophe in its tracks. But we must act and act now,” Mitchell said on Monday.The country...

People vent their frustration on social media as many given just beans and biscuits to eat, and donated food is found for sale in marketsA couple of biscuits and a can of beans is all that many Palestinians in Gaza say is being given to families to live on, if they receive aid at all, and that they are finding donated items for sale...