Monday, 25 May 2026
A Palestinian mother sits next to her malnourished son as he receives treatment at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. REUTERS
A quarter of children at Gaza clinics suffering from malnutrition
GENEVA/PARIS (News Wires) – Doctors Without Borders reported on Friday that one in four young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, attributing the crisis to what it described as Israel’s “policy of starvation.”
The organization, also known as MSF, stated that “the Israeli authorities’ systematic use of starvation as a weapon in Gaza has escalated to unparalleled levels, leaving both patients and healthcare workers battling for survival.”
According to AFP, MSF teams operating in the beleaguered and war-ravaged Palestinian enclave have seen a sharp increase in the number of malnourished patients seeking care.
“In screenings conducted last week at MSF facilities, 25 percent of children aged six months to five years, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, were found to be malnourished,” the organization reported.
At the MSF clinic in Gaza City specifically, the number of patients requiring treatment for malnutrition has quadrupled since mid-May, while “cases of severe malnutrition among children under five have tripled in just the past two weeks.”
“This is more than hunger,” MSF emphasized. “It’s intentional starvation, orchestrated by Israeli authorities.”
With “scarcely any food left in much of the region,” MSF warned against normalizing “the use of food as a weapon against a civilian population.”
This week, MSF joined over 100 humanitarian and human rights organizations in warning that “mass starvation” is now spreading across Gaza.
US- and Israel-backed Organization Expands Aid as UN System Sidelined
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an initiative supported by the United States and Israel, began distributing aid in Gaza in late May after Israel loosened a two-month complete blockade, effectively bypassing the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system.
“These food distributions are not acts of humanitarianism—they are war crimes executed in plain sight and dressed up in compassionate rhetoric,” said Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, in a statement.
France’s recognition of Palestinian state draws criticism from Israel, US
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France plans to officially recognize the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, aiming to foster peace in the region—a move that prompted sharp rebukes from Israel and the United States, according to Reuters.
Macron shared the decision via the social platform X, publishing a letter addressed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s commitment to pursuing recognition for Palestine and persuading international partners to do the same.
“True to its longstanding pledge for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,” stated Macron. “I will make this formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.”
With Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, France is set to become the first major Western nation to recognize Palestinian statehood—potentially energizing a movement led so far by smaller countries generally critical of Israel.
The announcement triggered strong reactions from both Israel and the US.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move by one of Israel’s key G7 allies, warning that it “rewards terror and risks enabling yet another Iranian proxy.”
Posting on X, Netanyahu wrote, “A Palestinian state under these conditions would serve as a launch pad for the destruction of Israel—not peaceful coexistence.
Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also rejected the plan, declaring the US “strongly opposes (Macron’s) proposal to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly.”
Rubio posted on X, “This reckless move only fuels Hamas propaganda and undermines peace efforts. It is an insult to the victims of October 7th.”