Israel’s siege causing children in Gaza to die

Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah. Pic/AP

After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel's bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north's Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. Most of the dead are children - including ones as old as 15 - as well as a 72-year-old man.

Particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb in the south, where access to aid is more regular. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, one of the senior doctors said. "The child deaths we feared are here," Adele Khodr, UNICEF's Middle East chief, said in a statement earlier this week.

Mortal remains of Indian worker on way home

The flight carrying the mortal remains of an Indian worker, Patnibin Maxwell, killed by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon left on Thursday evening for India, official sources said. Maxwell, 30, was from Kollam in Kerala. Israel's Minister of Interior, Moshe Arbel, Director General of Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA), officials from the Israeli foreign ministry and senior diplomats from the Indian embassy on Thursday evening attended a memorial send-off ceremony.

Ship to test new humanitarian aid corridor

A ship will head to Gaza on Friday carrying humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the territory, which faces widespread hunger and shortages of other essential supplies after nearly five months of war. The ship belonging to Spain's Open Arms will make a pilot voyage to test the sea corridor. The ship has been waiting at a Cyprus's port for permission to make deliveries.

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