Harrowing photos have emerged of severely emaciated children wasting away in Gaza as starvation grips the Palestinian enclave — just as the US accused Hamas of making a mockery of cease-fire talks to end the war with Israel.
The disturbing images showed scores of sickly thin Palestinian youngsters with their bones poking out.
In one particularly horrifying viral photo, a small child can be seen being cradled by his mom as his spine and all of his ribs visibly protrude from his body.
Other images show children hollowed out by hunger screaming out as they desperately beg for food.
The photos emerged as the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that at least 48 people had died of malnutrition-related causes in the past three weeks alone — including 20 children.
Hospitals, too, are being overwhelmed with scrawny children who doctors say are too weak to cry or move.
“Humans are well developed to live with caloric deficits, but only so far,” said Dr. John Kahler, Medglobal’s co-founder and a pediatrician who volunteered twice in Gaza during the war.
“It appears that we have crossed the line where a segment of the population has reached their limits,” he added.
“This is the beginning of a population death spiral.”
Israel has blamed Hamas for the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, arguing the terror group has disrupted food distribution as the war rages on.
The United Nations, meanwhile, said it was struggling to deliver aid there because of restrictions enforced by the Jewish state, as well as the ongoing fighting.
It comes as more than two dozen Western-aligned countries and over 100 charity and human rights groups warned in an open letter this week that Palestinians were on the brink of famine due, in part, to Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid-distribution points.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry quickly rejected the criticism, saying it has allowed roughly 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting a complete block back in May – and that another 700 are waiting to be picked up by the UN.
Israel has also said that it is committed to allowing aid in Gaza but that it needs to control it so it’s not seized on by Hamas.
Meanwhile, the grim pictures emerged as the US revealed it was cutting short cease-fire talks and bringing its negotiating team home after Hamas allegedly showed a lackluster effort to reach a deal with Israel, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday.
“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff said.
“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”
Hamas, for its part, claimed it was surprised by Witkoff’s “negative remarks” — saying it has shown responsibility and flexibility in negotiations.
The terror group added it was “keen to reach an agreement that ends the aggression and the suffering of our people in Gaza.”
Hamas official Bassem Naim said Friday that talks between Hamas and Israel were expected to resume next week.
Israel, though, didn’t immediately respond to whether negotiations would continue.
The negotiations have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war.
Hamas has said it will only release all remaining hostages — 50 in total — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war.
With Post wires
