Malnourished Gazan woman flown to Italy dies in hospital

A Gazan woman who was evacuated to Italy for treatment while severely emaciated has died in hospital.

The 20-year-old, who was identified as Marah Abu Zuhri, flew to Pisa with her mother on an overnight flight on Wednesday under a scheme set up by the Italian government.

The University Hospital of Pisa said that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday, less than 48 hours after arriving.

The hospital said she had suffered severe loss of weight and muscle, while Italian news agencies reported she was suffering from severe malnutrition.

The UN has warned of widespread malnutrition in Gaza, with experts backed by the organisation warning last month in a report that the “worst-case scenario” of famine is playing out in Gaza.

Israel has denied there is starvation in Gaza and accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it.

More than 180 children and adults have been brought to Italy since the start of Israel’s war with Gaza.

Thirty one patients and their companions arrived in Rome, Milan, and Pisa this week, all with serious congenital diseases, wounds or amputations, the Italian foreign ministry said.

Meanwhile, British MPs urged the government to bring sick and injured children from Gaza to the UK “without delay”, weeks after the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, promised to set up an evacuation scheme.

The Home Office said it intends to evacuate a few hundred children from Gaza “at pace” and that biometric tests must be carried out before children and carers can be allowed in the UK.

The Israeli ministry said it will start providing Gaza City residents with tents and other equipment from Sunday before relocating them to “safe zones”.

The statement came days after Israel’s government announced troops would occupy Gaza City. Several days of heavy bombardment of the Zeitoun, the largest district in the city, has since followed.

A spokesperson for the municipality told the BBC that the situation in Zeitoun was “catastrophic”, with mass displacement taking place after six days of relentless Israeli air strikes, shelling and demolition operations.

At least 36 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The health ministry also said that 11 more people had died from malnutrition, bringing the number of hunger-related deaths to more than 250.

The Israeli military said it was “committed to mitigating civilian harm” and questioned the reliability of the death tolls provided by the Hamas-run ministries.

Israel’s government denies there is malnutrition in Gaza. It says its forces target terrorists and never civilians, and claims that Hamas is responsible for the humanitarian crisis.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.