Kenyans in Mombasa march for Gaza as famine fears deepen

The Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement on Saturday held yet another parade in Mombasa to protest against Israel's continued attacks on Gaza, which have killed thousands of Palestinians.

The procession aimed to promote awareness among both Muslims and Christians, pushing them to unify and join efforts for a permanent truce.

Activists strongly condemned the devastation in Palestine and urged global solidarity and humanitarian aid for victims.

On October 21, 2023, hundreds of Kenyans marched in Mombasa against the Israeli assault on Palestinian territories, marking the first of such rallies.

The health ministry in Gaza said Saturday that at least 29,606 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during the war.

The toll includes at least 92 fatalities in the past 24 hours, while 69,737 people have been injured since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, a statement read.

Members of the Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement during their march for Gaza in Mombasa on February 24, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

Meanwhile, concern deepened Saturday over the growing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Gaza Strip, with aid agencies warning of unprecedented levels of desperation and looming famine.

Dozens more Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, the health ministry said, after Israel's spy chief joined talks with mediators in Paris seeking to unblock negotiations on a truce.

As civilians in the besieged territory struggled to get food and supplies, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees warned Gazans were "in extreme peril while the world watches".

In northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, bedraggled children held plastic containers and battered cooking pots for what little food was available.

Food is running out, with aid agencies unable to get into the area because of the bombing, while the trucks that do try to get through face frenzied looting.

Residents have taken to eating scavenged scraps of rotten corn, animal fodder unfit for human consumption and even leaves.

Members of the Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement during their march for Gaza in Mombasa on February 24, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

The World Food Programme (WFP) said this week its teams reported "unprecedented levels of desperation" while the United Nations warned that 2.2 million people were on the brink of famine.

The health ministry said on Saturday that a two-month-old baby identified as Mahmud Fatuh had died of "malnutrition" in Gaza City.

Save the Children said the risk of famine would continue to "increase as long as the government of Israel continues to impede the entry of aid into Gaza".

Israel has defended its track record on allowing aid into Gaza, saying that 13,000 trucks carrying relief supplies had entered the territory since the start of the war.

With tempers rising, dozens of people in the Jabalia camp on Friday held an impromptu protest.

"We didn't die from air strikes but we are dying from hunger," read a sign held by one child.

Members of the Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement during their march for Gaza in Mombasa on February 24, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

In the pursuit of a ceasefire, an Israeli delegation led by Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea travelled to Paris for a fresh push towards a deal.

The talks were continuing as planned on Saturday, a Western official told AFP speaking on condition of anonymity. The official declined to comment on the content of the discussions.

As with a previous week-long truce in November that saw more than 100 hostages freed, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been spearheading efforts to secure a deal.

White House envoy Brett McGurk held talks this week with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, after speaking to other mediators in Cairo who had met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Members of the Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement during their march for Gaza in Mombasa on February 24, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

With war still raging after more than four months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled a plan for post-war Gaza this week which sees civil affairs being run by Palestinian officials without links to Hamas.

It also says Israel will move ahead with a plan, already underway, to establish a security buffer zone inside Gaza along the territory's border.

A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu was "presenting ideas which he knows fully well will never succeed", while the proposal was also rejected by the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel's key ally the United States said it did support a "reoccupation" or a "reduction of the size of Gaza" and said "Palestinian people should have a voice and a vote... through a revitalised Palestinian Authority".

Additional reporting by AFP