There are some ghouls on social media and in the far right press who are saying that there is no mass starvation in Gaza because the media that published this photo of little Mohammed al-Mutawaq neglected to say that he has cerebral palsy.

“The picture that launched the global blood libel that Israel was starving Gazan children to death now stands… as a fraud perpetrated by the western media,” wrote Melanie Phillips, a fascist columnist at The Times. “The starvation lie is the latest in their decades-long attempt to delegitimize and destroy the tiny Jewish state.”

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth stated that photos of Mutawaq, among others, “appear to be part of an effort to reinforce the ‘famine narrative’.” And Julia Hartley-Brewer, one of the most vile apologists for genocide in Britain on her idiotic “Talk TV,” described such images of Palestinian children as “propaganda.” She said in a live broadcast: “Often, there’s a picture of a mother who’s quite chubby at the back with the child. Hey lady, maybe give some of your food to your kid.”

So, let me get this straight. Because the press that published this photo didn’t mention that Mohammed al-Mutawaq had a pre-existing health condition, his malnutrition is a lie? That Israel isn’t starving millions of people even though every single foreign physician and medical worker attests to this? That every single image and video and report we have seen is some kind of “blood libel” or “antisemitic propaganda?”

As a medical social worker, I had the privilege of working with some children with cerebral palsy. None of them looked like this poor child, because all of them had proper nutrition. The fact that Mohammed has cerebral palsy does not erase the impact of Israel’s policy of starvation. In fact, it highlights it. Because children with such conditions are far more susceptible to the ravages of starvation than healthy children. They are the first. The tip of the iceberg. But they are ALL suffering now thanks to Israel’s genocidal campaign. And there are more child amputees in Gaza than anywhere on earth.

There isn’t much we can say to these odious people. Not much at all in fact. There is no low they aren’t willing to plumb. The only thing we can do is expose their hideous character and rancid racism for what it is, and then shun them forever.

Kenn Orphan, July 2025