Shocking images from Gaza show the devastating effect severe malnutrition is having on those trapped in the war-torn enclave, as a starving young boy appears to be just skin and bones in the latest tragic photos.
A series of photographs of 21-year-old Ahmed Al-Najjar have emerged from Gaza as the Palestinian territory continues to come under attack from Israeli airstrikes.
The disturbing images show the young man lying on what appears to be a bed constructed of wooden planks, a single pillow and a thin mattress wrapped in a sheet.
In one photograph, Ahmed can be seen shirtless as he attempts to prop his body up in an elevated position using his arms, but his skin is sucked into the hollow space between his bones.
His ribcage appears incredibly prominent, his jaw clearly defined as his skin hangs from his bones: a heartbreaking symptom of the malnutrition and brain atrophy he suffers from.
Images have emerged of Ahmed Al-Najjar, 21, from Gaza. The young man is suffering from malnutrition and brain atrophy.
Disturbing images of her legs show her thin skin clinging to her bones with no fat or muscle visible to the naked eye.
In a third photo, Ahmed is seen drinking what appears to be milk from a bottle as he looks into the distance.
Another chilling image shows a close-up of Ahmed’s legs, which appear too weak to support his body if he tried to stand up.
Their thighs, knees, shins and feet are mere bones wrapped in a thin layer of skin without a single inch of muscle or fat visible to the naked eye.
Ahmed’s toes appear to be deformed as they curl forward and bend in different directions, a sign that he may never walk again.
In a third and final photograph released of the young man, he can be seen drinking from a small bottle of what appears to be milk.
Her long, slender fingers circle a small handle while her other hand rests on her stomach as she drinks.
Ahmed’s red sports shirt, emblazoned with a cartoon photo of a teddy bear and a soccer ball, hangs from his body as arm holes gape around his tiny upper arms.
He can be seen looking into the distance as he drinks the white liquid, holding the plastic bottle as he lies down.
But Ahmed is just one of thousands of Palestinians suffering from malnutrition due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) said more than 50,000 children in the Gaza Strip require immediate medical treatment for acute malnutrition.
In a statement last month, the agency said that “with continued restrictions on humanitarian access, people in Gaza continue to face desperate levels of hunger.”
‘UNRWA teams are working tirelessly to reach families with aid, but the situation is catastrophic.’
UNICEF was tasked with driving a truckload of nutritional and medical supplies to 10,000 children, spokesman James Elder said in June.
Their task was to deliver aid, which had been previously approved by the Israeli authorities, from Deir el-Balah to Gaza City.
“It took us 13 hours and we spent eight of them at checkpoints, arguing about paperwork: ‘Was it a truck or a van?'” Elder said.
“The reality is that that truck was denied access. Those 10,000 children did not receive that aid… Israel, as an occupying power, has a legal responsibility to provide that aid.”
Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, added: “The situation in southern Gaza is deteriorating rapidly. One million people in southern Gaza are trapped without clean water or sanitation in a heavily congested area along the beach, in the scorching summer heat.”
The stark illustration of the impact of Israeli bombardment on Gaza through Ahmed’s photographs comes as seven people were killed during an Israeli military operation in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian officials said on Friday.
The Israeli military said it had been carrying out “anti-terror activities” that included an airstrike.
The military said Israeli soldiers had “surrounded a building in which terrorists had entrenched themselves” and that soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “targeted several armed terrorists” in the area.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a total of seven people had been killed, but did not specify whether they died in the exchange of fire or in the airstrike.
Search and rescue operations continue after at least seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on July 5, 2024.
A Palestinian is seen searching through the smoldering rubble of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli strike on Friday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a total of seven people had been killed, but did not specify whether they died in the exchange of fire or in the airstrike.
The Israeli military said it had been carrying out an “anti-terror activity” that included an airstrike.
The militant group Islamic Jihad identified four of those killed as its members.
The clashes in Jenin, a known militant stronghold where the military frequently operates, came a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group said the government plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The construction plans revealed by the Peace Now group are part of the hardline government’s efforts to reinforce settlements as part of a strategy to cement Israel’s control over the West Bank to prevent a future Palestinian state.
Palestinians claim the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza – areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war – for an independent state.
Violence has soared in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, sparked by an Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel by Hamas militants that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 hostage.
The war has so far killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Ceasefire talks appear to be reviving after being stalled for weeks, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying it was sending negotiators to resume talks, a day after Hamas handed mediators its latest response to a US-backed proposal for a deal.
The resumption of negotiations appears to mark another attempt by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to bridge the gap that has repeatedly prevented a deal in recent months.
Hamas wants a deal that would ensure Israeli troops completely leave Gaza and the war ends, while Netanyahu says the war cannot end before Hamas is eliminated.
Israeli negotiators are expected to arrive in Doha, the Qatari capital, for talks as early as Friday, with American, Egyptian and Qatari officials in attendance.