Palestinians in Gaza slide deeper into starvation

Displaced Palestinians living in shabby camps are sliding deeper into starvation as Gaza's humanitarian crisis spirals.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on Friday, more than half a million people in Gaza are facing famine conditions marked by starvation and preventable deaths.

Many locals who have been forced to reside in camps say hunger has weaken them more and more.

"We have no lentils, no flour, no sugar, no rice. You can come and see where we live, we go to sleep without dinner. As you can see, my body is thin. I suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, hunger makes it so bad that I can no longer see clearly," Zaki Abu Nada, a displaced elderly man, told CGTN.

"My wife and our seven children are truly suffering from malnutrition. Even though we are registered with all the UN agencies, including UNICEF, they are still starving. I'm speaking to you now and I can barely stand. I say to the world: enough famine for our people," said Mohammed Salem, another displaced Palestinian.

A loose network of makeshift charity food-distribution sites known as "Takiya" kitchens has been seen as the last line of defense against starvation in Gaza. Yet, due to the Israeli military blockade that is choking off bulk food deliveries, the kitchens are critically under-supplied, unable to meet the demands of a starving region.

"Since Ramadan five months ago, we've been living in extremely harsh conditions. My son is injured by shrapnel in the head and cannot work, and we have no source of income. We rely on the soup kitchen for food when it opens once in two to three weeks. If it stops, we will die of hunger. Nobody knows how we suffer. Our life is unbearably difficult," said Faiza Al-Ayoubi, a displaced woman.

"The crossing has been closed for five months, and whatever they allow to come through is scarce and extremely expensive, so we cannot buy it. I myself can't afford to feed my children and grandchildren. The entire camp is already living in famine," said Umm Mohammed Habeeb, another displaced Palestinian.

Palestinians in Gaza slide deeper into starvation

Palestinians in Gaza slide deeper into starvation

Palestinians in Gaza slide deeper into starvation

China and Canada should work together to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Beijing on Friday.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while attending the Canada-China Trade and Investment Banquet together with the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Speaking at the event, He said that under the strategic guidance of the important consensus reached by their leaders, China and Canada should adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, and mutual success, and jointly promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

China is steadfastly expanding high-standard opening up, continuously developing new quality productive forces, and is willing to work with countries around the world, including Canada, to create new prospects for cooperation, said He.

Carney noted at the banquet that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner and said Canada looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges with China, making full use of dialogue mechanisms in areas such as the economy and trade, and deepening cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy and other fields.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit to China, marking the first trip to the country by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

China, Canada should work together for stable, healthy, sustainable economic ties: Vice Premier