Thousands of Gaza children are malnourished under Israel's food blockade, aid groups say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Aid groups are raising new alarm over Israel’s blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where it has barred entry of all food and other goods for more than six weeks. Thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day as stocks dwindle, the United Nations says.

The warning came as Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 27 people, including at least six women and 15 children.

The humanitarian aid system in Gaza “is facing total collapse,” the heads of 12 independent aid organizations warned in a joint statement. They said many groups have shut down operations because Israel's resumed bombardment the past month has made it too dangerous.

No food, fuel, medicine or any other supplies have entered Gaza since Israel imposed its blockade on March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages. Hundreds have been killed, and more than 400,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their shelters in the latest of multiple displacements.

A strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed a family of 10, including five children, four women and a man, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Strikes in northern Gaza killed two other couples with nine children, according to the Indonesian Hospital.

A later strike hit a school sheltering displaced people in the northern district of Jabaliya, killing three people and a child. The blast left walls in rubble and classrooms strewn with debris, charred mattresses and scattered cans of food.

The Israeli military strikes homes, shelters and public areas daily, saying it is targeting Hamas militants, and blames militants for civilian deaths because they operate there. It says it tries to limit civilian casualties. There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes.

The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely on charity kitchens, which can prepare only 1 million meals a day. The meals mainly consist of rice or pasta with no fresh vegetables or meat.

Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies, and the U.N. and other aid groups have been sending their remaining stocks to the charity kitchens.

In markets — the only other place to find food in Gaza — prices are spiraling and shortages are widespread, with fresh foods nearly non-existent. As a result, humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80% of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for April.

“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months" since the war began, OCHA said.

“Kids are eating less than a meal a day and struggling to find their next meal,” said Bushra Khalil, policy head at Oxfam. “Everyone is purely eating canned food. … Malnutrition and pockets of famine are definitely occurring in Gaza.”

Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen has food for about three more weeks. Already, he said, up to one in five of those who come to his kitchen for food leave empty-handed.

Water is also growing scarce, with Palestinians standing in long lines to fill jerry cans from trucks. Omar Shatat, an official with a local water utility, said people are down to six or seven liters per day, well below the U.N. estimate for basic needs.

In March, more than 3,600 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, up from around 2,000 the month before, according to OCHA, which said "the rapid deterioration of the nutrition situation is already visible.”

Aid groups are also less able to treat malnourished children because of Israel's airstrikes and ground operations. Aid workers could only reach 22,300 children under 5 with nutrient supplements in March, down 70% from the month before. Only around 100 of the original 173 treatment sites still function, OCHA said.

"Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” said Amande Bazerolle, emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.

“This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity,” she said in a statement.

A survey of 47 aid groups found that 95% of them have reduced or entirely halted operations, mainly because bombardment made it too dangerous, according to the joint statement by the heads of humanitarian organizations, which included the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Israel has largely stopped coordinating with humanitarian groups over their movements in Gaza. That means aid workers have no assurance the military won’t strike them. COGAT, the military agency in charge of aid coordination, acknowledged stopping the system, which had been in place before the ceasefire.

Since mid-March, Israeli fire has hit the staff or facilities of at least 14 organizations, and around 60 aid workers have been killed, according to the statement. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday one of its facilities was hit by an explosion the day before, the second time in three weeks the organization had been struck.

”When our staff and partners, our convoys, our offices, our warehouses are shelled, the message is loud and clear: Even lifesaving aid is no longer protected,” the 12 aid organization heads said. “This is unacceptable.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the blockade is one of the “central pressure tactics” against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain its rule. Aid workers deny there is significant diversion of aid, saying the U.N. closely monitors distribution. Rights groups have called it a “starvation tactic.”

Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Katz said that even afterward Israel will occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas' negotiating delegation, said Thursday the group had rejected Israel's latest proposal along those lines. He reiterated Hamas' stance that it will return hostages only in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.

Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Of the 59 hostages still in captivity in Gaza, Israel believes 35 are dead.

Israel's offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.

Khaled and Keath reported from Cairo.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians prepare for burial the bodies of several members of the al-Atal family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent in the Jabalia refugee camp, at the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025.(AP Photo/(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The al-Atal family's tent is seen after it was struck overnight in an Israeli airstrike that killed several family members, in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza City, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians prepare for burial the bodies of several members of the al-Atal family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent in the Jabalia refugee camp, at the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025.(AP Photo/(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians inspect the remains of a displacement tent hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, killing 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners carry white sacks cover the bodies of members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives Mourn over the bodies of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Relative of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, reacts during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives Mourn over the bodies of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives Mourn over the bodies of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners pray over the bodies of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners pray over the bodies of 10 members of the Abu Al-Rous family, killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their displacement tent overnight, during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail maintenance worker has been arrested and is being held on a $1.1 million bond after admitting he turned water off to a toilet covering a hole in a cell wall, allowing 10 men to squeeze through the gap in one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history.

The inmates pulled off the daring escape from a jail early Friday by yanking open a faulty cell door, moving the toilet and slithering through the hole. Graffiti on the wall included the message “To Easy LoL,” with an arrow pointing to the gap.

Officials have underscored multiple security lapses, including ineffective cell locks and that the inmates escaped when the lone guard monitoring them went to get food. The absence of the inmates, many charged with or convicted of violent offenses such as murder, was not reported to law enforcement for hours. Four have since been apprehended and six remain at large.

During a tense New Orleans City Council meeting on Tuesday, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail, said she “takes full accountability" for the escape.

“There were procedural failures and missed notifications, but there were also intentional wrongdoings. This was a coordinated effort aided by individuals inside our own agency who made the choice to break the law,” Hutson said. “We are continuing to pursue everyone involved.”

Responding to a question from Councilmember Oliver Thomas, Hutson said she couldn't guarantee inmates would not be left unattended again, noting the jail is operating with 60% staffing capacity.

The inmates escaped by removing a sink-toilet combination unit from a cell, then cutting steel bars behind the cell room sink, Hutson said. After bending the bars they slipped out. It's unclear what they used to saw through the bars.

Authorities believe sheriff's employees helped, and three have been suspended. On Tuesday, authorities made their first staff arrest.

Maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, 33, admitted that one of the escapees “advised him to turn the water off in the cell” before the men slipped through the hole, the Louisiana Attorney General’s office said in a statement.

Williams is charged with 10 counts of principle to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office, with a $100,000 bond per charge. He is being held at a detention center in another parish and appeared in court via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon, represented by a public defender, court records show.

Williams said one of the escapees threatened to “shank” him if he did not turn off the water, according to an arrest affidavit. Another inmate tried to take Williams’ phone and attempted to get him to bring a book with cash app information.

Attorney General Liz Murrill said Williams “made some bad decisions” and that he should have brought the threat and escape plan to someone’s attention.

Thomas said the sheriff’s office has a responsibility to protect employees and create a safe environment for them to report threats and other problems.

“We cannot allow the inmates to run the facilities. That can’t happen,” Thomas said. “We cannot allow them to threaten the men and women who work there.”

The affidavit says Williams “willfully and maliciously assisted with the escape” and that without his help they would have flooded the cell and drawn attention to their escape efforts.

Murrill told reporters Tuesday that no additional charges have been filed against other employees but that the investigation continues and “there could be more arrests.”

Officials have pointed to other security lapses before, during and after the jailbreak.

On Tuesday, New Orleans officials grilled the sheriff's office about why there was an hourslong delay in reporting the escape.

While a head count of inmates normally starts around 6:30 a.m. and takes less than an hour, sheriff’s officials said they were still verifying whether inmates had escaped more than two hours later. Jeworski “Jay” Mallet, the jail’s Chief of Corrections. City and state police did not find out about the escape until around 10:30 a.m., more than nine hours later.

Local police, who have “exponentially vaster” resources to track down the inmates, should have been notified immediately, Councilmember J.P. Morrell said.

“There were failures, failures in our personnel,” Hutson said.

Many state and local officials say blame rests squarely on Hutson.

“As sheriff I take fully accountability for this failure,” she told the New Orleans City Council on Tuesday. “Our community deserves answers and more importantly it deserves action.”

Six of the fugitives remain on the run. Many of them were in jail awaiting trial or sentencing, including for murder charges.

“There are witnesses and victims, and all of those people are very, rightfully, unnerved by all of this,” Murrill said.

The sheriff’s office says more than 200 law enforcement personnel are part of the search. Up to $20,000 is being offered for information leading to the capture of each escapee.

Antoine Massey, who is identified in the affidavit as the inmate who threatened to stab Williams, is one of the men still at large. According to the Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office, Massey also escaped from a jail in northeast Louisiana in 2019 and was recaptured the same day in a town in Texas, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) away.

“He was in the exercise yard and somehow cut part of the chain-link fence, enough to shimmy through the hole,” Morehouse Parish Sheriff Chief Deputy James Mardis said, adding that an accomplice was waiting with a car.

Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, of the New Orleans Police Department, said she believes most of the escapees are within city limits. Officials have warned that anyone aiding the fugitives will face charges.

Meanwhile, around 60 inmates at the ailing jail facility have been transferred to more secure state prisons.

Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This undated photo released by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office shows Sterling Williams. (Louisiana Attorney General's Office via AP)