Sir Bob Geldof condemns 'abysmal' starvation of kids in Gaza as he issues plea

Sir Bob Geldof begs the world to end the suffering in Gaza, saying: "Feed the children and their tormented, terrified, broken and panicked mothers."

The rock star and campaigner broke his silence on the deepening humanitarian catastrophe 40 years after he jolted the planet into action over the Ethiopian famine.

Sir Bob, 73, was compelled to speak out after reeling in horror at the sight of emaciated Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq whose life hangs in the balance.

The picture of the skeletal one-year-old being cradled by his helpless mother appalled the world and has become a striking image of the "maelstrom of human misery" gripping the enclave.

And in an unequivocal message to those who watch on while innocents die, he said: "There is no argument in the world, no war aim, no imagined future that justifies this photograph and its abysmal and shameful, disgusting truth."

His Live Aid concerts in 1985 were watched by a global TV audience of 1.5 billion people and raised more than £114m for famine relief while bringing the issue of devastating food shortages into people's homes.

In striking echoes of his call to arms, more than 100 aid agencies united to warn that "mass starvation" is spreading across Gaza, accusing Israel of not allowing food inside the enclave to be distributed. In a warning to the world they said the "total siege" has "created chaos, starvation, and death".

The agencies demanded a permanent ceasefire, the lifting of all restrictions, reopening of all land crossings, cessation of military-controlled distribution sites and a full UN-led humanitarian response.

The intervention came as the UN warned one million children in the territory are now at risk of acute malnutrition with the catastrophic effects of hunger now extending to the entire population.

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health said a further 10 people had died due to starvation in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of famine fatalities since the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023 to 111.

Dr Munir al-Boursh, director-general of the ministry, said: "These are not just numbers - they are cries for help, a human plea urging the world to act before it's too late."

Israel insists it acts in accordance with international law and is allowing aid into the besieged Palestinian territory but agencies said the amount of food reaching the stricken population under strict Israeli control is a fraction of what is needed.

Aid agencies claim humanitarian assistance for the stricken people of the sealed off enclave average just 28 trucks a day. The UN has previously stated a minimum of 600 lorries is required to feed the population of 2.1 million people. With the effectively halt in supplies of emergency food, medicine,

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which delivers critical emergency food aid to the population, said 87 million meals had been delivered since aid was allowed to enter Gaza on May 19.

It said: "Hamas is holding up the ceasefire over who controls food aid. They're demanding (we) be removed and the UN put back in charge. Why? Because control of aid means control of Gaza. With the UN in charge, Hamas steals, taxes, resells, and stays in power.

"We continue to call upon the global humanitarian community, including the UN, to step up and help us scale our operations to feed more people. The enormous need in Gaza isn't easing up, and neither are we."

In a significant development 115 charities, including Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières, released a joint statement "sounding the alarm" over "mass starvation" in Gaza.

It said: "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions. The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning."

After a visit to Gaza church leaders in Jerusalem said they were sickened by what they had witnessed.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said: "We have seen men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal. This is a humiliation that is hard to bear when you see it with your own eyes. It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable."

Adnan Abu Hasna, of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said: "What is happening is a deliberate use of hunger as a weapon. People in Gaza are not only suffering from hunger and thirst, but also facing the spread of epidemics and diseases due to the collapse of basic services."

One official with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine said: "We're in the death phase. Everything around people at the moment is death, whether it's bombs or strikes, children are wasting away.

"Doctors and nurses who continue to work in clinics and medical centres are watching children disappear and die in front of their eyes, and there's absolutely nothing that they can do about it."