Waiting for the world to help

PITIFUL cries for help ring out from the depths of despair in Gaza, calling to a world that appears to have stood by and watched the hell of slaughter and starvation unfold.

- BY CHRIS HUGHES

And as yet more horrific images of emaciated children on the brink of death emerge, the call for action to end the suffering of Palestinians in the face of relentless Israeli attacks and blockades grows.

In one haunting image.

Muhammed Zakariya Ayyub al-Matouk a tragic sight of skin and bones-clings to his desperate mum in a tent in Gaza City where there is no access to milk, food, or basic necessities.

The one-and-a-half-year-old is just one of an estimated 70,000 children said by medics to be in a state of starvation - and up to 28 are believed to be dying every day.

Gaza's hospitals yesterday reported nine more deaths from hunger in 24 hours, bringing the total to 122 since the war started.

In another harrowing picture.

Yezen Abu Ful, two, lies helpless at the Al-Shati Refugee Camp, waiting for food many know may never come until it is too late.

TIRED

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world not to ignore the crisis.

He said: "I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community. The lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity Gaza-based journalist Noor al-Shana told how desperate Palestinians are "tired of empty expressions of solidarity" - as the death toll in the strip hit 59,587.