Death of Yazan al-Kafarneh

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Death of Yazan al-Kafarneh
Part of Gaza Strip famine, Effect of the Gaza war on children in the Gaza Strip, and the Gaza genocide
Location in the Gaza Strip.
DateMarch 4, 2024 (2024-03-04)
Location
TypeStarvation
DeathsYazan al-Kafarneh

Yazan al-Kafarneh (Arabic: يزن الكفارنة) (4 June 2014 – 4 March 2024) was a Palestinian boy with cerebral palsy who died from malnourishment on 4 March 2024, aged 9.[1] He died during the ongoing Gaza Strip famine caused by the tightening of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. He became a face for the children in Gaza and the Gaza Strip famine, with his image used by politicians and international organizations.[2][3]

Background

Malnutrition screening conducted in the northern Gaza Strip in January 2024 by UNICEF and the World Food Programme found that nearly 16% of all children under the age of two were acutely malnourished with similar testing, finding at least 5% of children in Rafah under the age of two experiencing malnutrition.[2]

The crisis derives from Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed food infrastructure, and a widespread scarcity of essential supplies,[4] combined with the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip and limited humanitarian aid. On 3 January 2024, Arif Husain, the chief economist at the World Food Programme, stated 80 percent of all people in the world experiencing famine or catastrophic hunger were in the Gaza Strip, stating, "In my life, I’ve never seen anything like this in terms of severity".[5]

The same month, head of Israel's COGAT Colonel Moshe Tetro, who facilitates humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, claimed that there was no food shortage in Gaza.[6]

Death

Al-Kafarneh lived with his family in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza before the war, with his family able to provide him enough food, water and medical care.[7] Likely due to his condition al-Kafarneh would have had to have a specialized diet made up of soft and highly nutritional foods.[3] However, multiple Israeli airstrikes caused the family to relocate several times and in an effort to find him better care, food and water, the family relocated to Rab'a School in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah in southern Gaza which had been deemed a safe area by the Israeli government.[2][8] By 25 February, al-Kafarneh began to suffer from pneumonia, which aggravated him even further after weeks of hunger and his already fragile condition.[9]

In images taken before al-Kafarneh died, he is described by New York Times reporters as having flesh that is shrunken and shriveled, that is pallid and stretched tight over every curve of bone and sagging with every hollow. One of the more widely shared photos of him online shows his right hand with an intravenous line.[3][10]

Aftermath

His image and death were utilized in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, by the Palestine representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour. Mansour stated that his death was due to Israel using starvation as a weapon of war, and called for the end of Israeli impunity.[11] Photos of al-Kafarneh were reposted online by activists, journalists, and Palestinian supporters, to bring a human face to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza due to the ongoing offensive, issues with humanitarian aid delivery, and potential famine.[2] An Al Jazeera video report highlighting the lack of food and plight of civilians in the Gaza Strip was made in front of al-Kafarneh's body as it was being prepared for burial, showing his emaciated body.[12]

See also

References

  1. "How Yazan starved to death amid Israel's war on Gaza". Al Jazeera. 17 March 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  2. Karanth, Sanjana (4 March 2024). "Palestinian Boy In Photos That Showed Reality Of Gaza Famine Dies Of Malnourishment". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  3. Shbair, Bilal; Yee, Vivian; Boxerman, Aaron (9 March 2024). "The 10-Year-Old Boy Who Has Become the Face of Starvation in Gaza". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  4. "Israel is starving Gaza | B'Tselem". 13 February 2024. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  5. Chotiner, Isaac (3 January 2024). "Gaza Is Starving". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. "NYT highlights emaciated 10-year-old boy as 'face of starvation in Gaza'". The Times of Israel. 9 March 2024. Archived from the original on 15 October 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  7. Psyllou, Despoina (14 March 2024). "The horrific end of nine-year-old Yazan". in-cyprus.philenews.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. S. Hajjaj, Tareq (25 March 2025). "The story of Yazan Kafarneh, the boy who starved to death in Gaza". Mondoweiss. Archived from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  9. "The 10-year-old boy who has become the face of starvation in Gaza". The Seattle Times. The New York Times. 9 March 2024. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  10. Karanth, Sanjana (4 March 2024). "Palestinian Boy In Photos That Showed Reality Of Gaza Famine Dies Of Malnourishment". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  11. "'Look at Yazan': Palestine's Riyad Mansour tells world to look at children in Gaza at UNGA". Maktoob media. 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  12. "Emaciated child dies from lack of food and medicine in Gaza". Al Jazeera. 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.