Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, 18 months old

Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, his mother, and his three-year-old brother live in a tent on a Gaza beach. Mohammed’s father was killed last year when he went to seek food.

A photo of his mother holding him in her arms was featured on the front page of the New York Times under the headline, “Gazans are dying of starvation.” He is little more than skin and bones. 

“As an adult, I can bear the hunger,” his mother said. “But my kids can’t.”

Mohammed was diagnosed with severe malnutrition by the Friends of the Patient clinic and Al-Rantisi children’s hospital, but there was little they could do, she said. “They told me, ‘His treatment is food and water.’” 

More information: New York Times