Malawi follows Zambia in declaring drought disaster as El Niño brings hunger to southern Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The southern African nation of Malawi has declared a state of disaster over drought in 23 of its 28 districts and the president says it urgently needs more than $200 million in humanitarian assistance, less than a month after neighboring Zambia also appealed for help. Malawi is the latest country … Read more

UN says ‘famine is imminent’ in northern Gaza as Israel launches another raid on the main hospital

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The U.N. food agency said Monday that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza, where 70% of the remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger, and that a further escalation of the war could push around half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation. The alarming report came as Israel faces … Read more

Hunger soars and aid dwindles as gangs in Haiti suffocate the country

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A crowd of about 100 people tried to shove through a metal gate in Haiti’s capital as a guard with a baton pushed them back, threatening to hit them. Undeterred, children and adults alike, some of them carrying babies, kept elbowing each other trying to enter. “Let us in! We’re hungry!” they … Read more

From a US military plane, airdrops bring small doses of aid to Gaza, levelled by war

As American military pilots closed in on the northern coast of Gaza, AP journalists aboard the aid mission could hardly spot a single building left untouched by six months of brutal war. They watched as three tons of humanitarian aid — food, water and hygiene products supplied by Jordan— tumbled out of the rear of … Read more

Ethiopia’s Tigray region is now peaceful, but extreme hunger afflicts its children

NEBAR HADNET, Ethiopia — The cruel realities of war and drought seem to have merged for Tinseu Hiluf, a widow living in the arid depths of Ethiopia’s Tigray region who is raising four children left behind by her sister’s recent death in childbirth. A two-year war between federal troops and regional forces killed one of … Read more

Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Another top donor to the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians said Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars of support in response to Israeli allegations against the organization. Sweden’s reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was preparing … Read more

After months of warnings of famine in Gaza, some children begin to succumb in rising deaths

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel’s bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces and has suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries. At least 20 people have died … Read more

Many of those killed or wounded in Gaza stampede for aid were shot by Israel’s army, EU arm says

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Many of the Palestinians killed or wounded in the chaos as they tried to get bags of flour from an aid convoy were hit by Israeli army fire, the European Union’s diplomatic service said Saturday, urging an international investigation. Outrage is rising over the desperation of hundreds of thousands struggling to … Read more

Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages’ families push for release

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Aid convoys carrying food reached northern Gaza this week, Israeli officials said Wednesday, the first major delivery in a month to the devastated, isolated area, where the U.N. has warned of worsening starvation among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians amid Israel’s offensive. The increasing alarm over hunger across Gaza has fueled … Read more

Bombs batter Gaza Strip after truce collapses

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip, shows an explosion in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave during an Israeli attack on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Hamas movement. John Macdougall | Afp | Getty Images Israeli bombs hit the Gaza Strip … Read more