Gaza starvation denial image leaves Palestinian mother destroyed

Palestinian family reunion ignites online ridicule

A mother reclaims her daughters in Canada

Faiza Najjar, 50, secured a safe passage out of Gaza last year, but her four adult daughters were left behind. The family endured a harsh reality as food shortages worsened in the territory.

The emotional reunion

After a months‑long effort from Canada, Najjar finally embraced her daughters and seven grandchildren when they arrived at Toronto’s airport last month. The reunion was filmed and shared on social media, but pro‑Israeli accounts mocked her physical appearance and questioned claims of starvation in Gaza. “As a mother it just destroyed me,” Najjar told AFP. She did not say she went hungry in Gaza, but a post that ridiculed her appeared more than 300,000 times on multiple platforms.

Misleading online narrative

• The posts targeting Najjar are part of a broader misinformation campaign that deflects from the real humanitarian harm.
• Toronto’s mayor Olivia Chow removed a video she had posted on Instagram after abusive comments that focused on the family’s physical appearance.
• X’s chatbot Grok misidentified a 2025 AFP photo of an emaciated child in Gaza, fueling further claims that reports of starvation in Gaza have been fabricated.

Israeli denial ‘Incidents are isolated situations’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that “there is no starvation in Gaza.” This statement stands in direct conflict with United Nations warnings that famine is unfolding in Gaza and with images of sick and emaciated children that have drawn international outrage.

A tragic reality

According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, with the United Nations deeming the figure reliable. The UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reports “widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease” as the driving forces behind hunger‑related deaths in Gaza.

Najjar’s message

“My daughters lived there and their children went to sleep hungry… with bombs outside their tents,” Najjar said. She received medical treatment, including rehabilitation, in Jordan before flying to Canada. “Denial is deadly. I just want the world to know the crisis is real,” she told AFP.