Gazan GHF workers left to die at hospital where Doctors Without Borders is.

I actually can't find that post sorry where they said that I must have missed it, what time was that at?

"It also begs the question of why there are no children without medical conditions displaying signs of starvation when the accusation is that Israel is deliberately starving them.

I am thankful there is no images of children without medical conditions in that state but the truth matters!"

This is what I take issue with and asked for proof of because these are statements of fact and not opinion.

Israeli isn’t a dirty word that required censorship, thank you.

🙄

It is obviously their opinion because they first posed the question Has there been a child featured in the media who hasn’t got an underlying condition?

And then said from their own perspective that I have yet to see a report of a child without an underlying medical condition displaying signs of starvation.

They haven't stated it as a fact that no such children exist, just shown doubt about it which reveals their own opinion.

Who are those babies? We would need to know their identity & whether they have health conditions or not to even attempt to uncover the truth about why they are so thin.

I was told on this forum that the person who made the claim provided the proof. Now you made a massive statement that you have no proof for.

Because I have been here before I provided the proof but the source wasn't suitable something which I expect judging in your reply to @PinkBobby will happen here.

Perhaps you should start statements qualifying that this is your opinion and not fact

(Like when you said about the population growth in Gaza, I provided proof you were wrong and you ignored it(

As usual these discussions turn nasty when it's so unnecessary.

@Stripes56 I've asked you nicely not to bring my family into this so I will assume that is the end of it unless you want to cause an argument and get reported. It's very different to you mentioning your own family.

@PinkBobby no one is saying Maryam "doesn't count" because she has a medical condition, what we are saying is this should be made clear when her image is being used. Otherwise it's exploitation of a sick child.

There is no "glee" in pointing out her siblings look a healthy weight, what we are trying to do is establish the truth. The first time I saw photos of skeleton thin children posted in mainstream media I took them at face value. Now the UK public are being made aware that most of these children have underlying health conditions. That doesn't make they don't count and I don't doubt that malnutrition and lack of access to the special food or formula they need is making their health conditions worse. Nevertheless, let's be honest about it.

The two babies in the Sky article?

I don't know, it was you made the statement "there are no children without medical conditions displaying signs of starvation"

That's a huge statement that I presume you would have proof of when posting.

You can say it denigrates my case but I think there is enough info out there to know that the people in Gaza are in desperate need of help. We can debate this photo (but not the two others in the article that show the desperate reality or the maths re GHF which you are seemingly happy to not focus on) and call for better journalism whilst ignoring all the voices saying they are in desperate need of more food (not to mention fewer bombs).

I think there is a time and place to call for honest reporting but it shouldn’t drown out the actual issue which is protecting innocent people from slowly dying. I didn’t say this specific thread had people hoping for skin and bones but sadly on another thread I have watched people upload people living in a horrendous war zone saying “what starvation” because they aren’t thin enough or “look how obese this person is, clearly not starving”. It was deeply disturbing to watch. Some out there are so keen to call out these photos and have that be the issue rather than focus on the fact that people are clearly not getting the food/shelter/healthcare they need.

It also begs the question of why there are no children without medical conditions displaying signs of starvation when the accusation is that Israel is deliberately starving them.

@CyberStranger where is your proof of this please?

I think, once again, we’re getting lost in this debate about photos. Everyone is quick to jump on the photo of this poor girl who is in desperate need of food and medical care (which may not have been necessary had Israel not stopped all aid a few months back and flattened medical facilities). What about the babies’ legs also pictured in that article - do they have medical conditions? Or people desperately queuing for food? Or the countless people who aren’t being pictured? Or the thousands of people trying to get aid in 11 minutes from just 4 hubs? Or can anyone explain how 36,000 meals are being handed out a minute by GHF?

Yes, I agree that journalists should not be using emotional manipulation to garner pity or support for the poor Palestinian people but that one photo is just a tiny dot in the body of evidence that people are in desperate need of help. Why must we demand photographic evidence from a war zone? Why are reports from experts in aid/conflict zones not enough?

I’m not saying it’s necessarily the case here but the glee at which some people say ‘oh they’ve got a medical condition, it doesn’t count’ is quite disturbing. Yes, she may have additional needs. No, she can’t necessarily get the help she needs because she has been displaced, her medical facilities compromised or totally flattened, food is hard to source (especially if she has dietary requirements). The most vulnerable show the signs of catastrophe first and it feels like some people won’t be happy until everyone in Gaza is skin and bones.

And the 98% of aid being stolen isn’t all by armed terrorists, as far as I understand from U.N. reports. If my children hadn’t eaten for days, I would take any food I could find. I wouldn’t necessarily waste time walking kilometres (having not eaten myself for who knows how long) to queue for hours to then be turned away after 11 minutes.

We can have a long chat about this photo but it just distracts from the actual issue.

It’s difficult to imagine what it may be like for those families unless one puts themselves in their shoes. It only struck home to me when I considered what if that child had Coeliacs, how would I cope, what would I feed my child.

Otherwise absence of fresh produce may only appear a “problem.”

I’m glad that Trump (and you) can see that it is not isolated cases.

Why bring my family into it? Please don’t.

It wasn’t photos of individual sick & starving children being used for propaganda purposes that made Trump say what he did. It was the general picture that he could see with his own eyes of malnourished & starving babies & children in Gaza.

You’re already minimising the concerns. Lack of gluten free food is not simply a “problem” - it means that there are minimal fresh fruit and vegetables available. Perhaps you would think it merely a problem for your family to only mainly eat bread

The aid agencies have been expressing mounting concerns about malnutrition even prior to Israel’s complete blockade in March.

It was pictures of starving kids that made Trump put pressure on Israel to allow in aid- so frankly - unfortunately- it has served a purpose.

Put it another way - if the only problem was just lack of food, wouldn't her siblings be as malnourished as her?

You mention yourself some children are gluten intolerant and that is going to be a problem in Gaza at the moment.

Why the insistence on showing photos of children with health conditions without mentioning the health conditions in the text (in most cases)? Just be honest!

There are malnourished children in Gaza at the moment and the scarcity of resources is particularly affecting those with underlying health issues or food intolerances.

“If people point out that children being used to show malnutrition have genetic conditions, it is not to defend Israel's blockade.
It is just to point out how we are being emotionally manipulated if we think that particular child is starving only because of a lack of food - a story which helps Hamas propaganda.”

If it’s not lack of food - then why is she starving?

My daughter has a genetic condition- coeliacs- she can’t eat wheat. It’s not an uncommon condition but easily managed with non wheat containing meals. She would be very ill without this- a shortage of food. Flour appears to be mainstay of food in Gaza.

“One of the most affected groups are those with gluten intolerance, who are unable to consume wheat-based products like bread, which now make up the bulk of available food.
"My wife and one of my five children have celiac disease," said Rami Taha who lives in central Gaza.
"Before the war, I used to buy them gluten-free products. Now, there is nothing. I have to take them to the hospital every few days just to get IV fluids."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crlzr7ey8rpo.amp

If people point out that children being used to show malnutrition have genetic conditions, it is not to defend Israel's blockade.

It is just to point out how we are being emotionally manipulated if we think that particular child is starving only because of a lack of food - a story which helps Hamas propaganda.

Facts matter. As was pointed out above by @CyberStranger the other children in Maryam's family are not in the poor condition she is in. It is disingenuous to show her image as if she is a typical child in Gaza - she is not even a typical child within her own family.

Gazans need access to more aid, yes - children in particular. Israel should never have blockaded aid in the first place, in my opinion. But don't use images of children with significant medical issues for propaganda purposes. That is exploitative towards the child and attempts to mislead people unless the child's medical issues are explained alongside the fact they are malnourished. It is terrible when children like Maryam are unable to get the medical help or special food they need to keep healthy.

Another person who seems to be advocating for ethnic cleansing.

Maybe people suggesting this, including Ben Gvir, and calling for Palestinians to leave and calling it “voluntary” or an “an opportunity” - don’t seem to realise that maybe Palestinians are scared they will never be allowed back into Gaza given history of the region. Also, starving people to leave does not really make it voluntary.

It’s not the first time people defending Israel’s blockade by saying the child has a genetic condition. Whilst the latter may be true- the aid that they need is clearly not getting through, making them the most vulnerable. Like a canary in a mine.

@CyberStranger has already pointed that the current situation is leading to most aid being stolen. We already know GHF can’t provide enough aid. The maths isn’t complicated- it clearly shows that the weaponisation of aid is going to lead to significant malnutrition.

I’ve answered this already - all this is post Israel’s initial blockade of aid in 2023. The article has a link the government memo- check the dates on it.

Of course stealing aid is contributing to the problem- but you seem to have missed the point that this was not a significant issue prior to Israel blocking aid! It’s not worth stealing if it isn’t in short supply!