SHOTLIST

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE (JULY 31, 2025) (ANADOLU-ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEER AMERICAN DOCTOR THOMAS COOPER AND HIS PALESTINIAN COLLEAGUE WALKING TO NASSER HOSPITAL

2. DR. COOPER AND HIS PALESTINIAN COLLEAGUE WALKING IN HOSPITAL CORRIDORS (2 SHOTS)

3. DR. COOPER AND HIS PALESTINIAN COLLEAGUE ENTERING HOSPITAL ROOM TO SEE SICK CHILDREN

4. PALESTINIAN MOTHER TAKING OFF HER BABY’S CLOTHES, SHOWING EMACIATED BABY TO DR. COOPER AND HIS PALESTINIAN COLLEAGUE
DR. COOPER TALKING TO PALESTINIAN COLLEAGUE / WOMEN IN FRONT OF THE HOLDING BABIES SUFFERING FROM MALNUTRITION

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOLUNTEER AMERICAN DOCTOR THOMAS COOPER, SAYING:

“I've been only here for three days and what's happening here is unimaginable. So yes, there is a massive hunger both in adults and children in particular. I mean, I spent some time in the emergency room. I did some rounding on the wards. And so we in the emergency room, it's not unusual to see five, seven year old children just pass out and to be disoriented from lack of food. Particularly heartbroken are children that are completely famished and it affects the children without chronic disease and with chronic diseases. Those with heart conditions. So that's in personally and also with GI problems or neurological, muscular problems. And these children are in very, very bad life threatening conditions. And so this is absolutely unacceptable. And the question is why is that happening? There's, there's no food. I'm looking my colleagues, pediatricians, they are gaunt. They haven't eaten proper meals for days, not weeks. The I was told a kilo of meat or sugar costs the equivalent of $100. So people are saying that there's food here, why the price is so incredibly high and there's such a scarcity of food. This is just absolutely unacceptable. Definitely not true. I mean, they're children that are starving here. I've seen them with my own eyes. So that is not true. It's a lie. And I would like to invite apparently Mr. Witcoff is going to be here not too far away. If that's OK with the staff here, I would invite him to come here and see for himself what's happening here. I'd be happy to get out the conflicted area could be arranged outside of the hospital. I'll meet him in person and I'll show him into the hospital. I would say this is so unacceptable in this day and age to basically and I've seen that also with my own eyes. 11 year old boys, there's a boy staff person here who lost his who basically didn't lose his child, but he lost previously children. Now he has a child that's paralyzed from a bullet that went from the left side up to the right side, transacting his spine. And now he's got modern neuro-deficit. He can't probably won't be able to walk. And this is just an 11 year old boy that went to get food. And this is just one out of just the last three days. The trauma bay is full of casualties because I walked there to go to my room. I mean, I got blood on my shoes right now because we walked through the trauma bay. OK, it's just full of people injured, people dead that have been taken out. And what is happening to why 11 12 year old boys are being shot with these powerful weapons is beyond comprehension. And that also drives the starvation because these kids are going to get food for the families. This is barbaric. It's a crime scene. And if there are US citizens involved in this crime scene, they need to be prosecuted in the United States by US federal agents. They need to be put to jail for whatever they need to be taken. This is unacceptable. This is a crime scene. What we're seeing here is a crime scene. OK, both with the children's and both with what's happening in the trauma bay. It's combined. It's beyond belief.”

6. PALESTINIAN DOCTOR SPEAKING ABOUT SICK GIRL SITTING ON BED, AS DR. COOPER LISTENS HIM

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOLUNTEER AMERICAN DOCTOR THOMAS COOPER, SAYING:

“Undernourished and they are basically lacking nutrients, vitamins. They're also thirsty. There's no water. And the water that they have is of poor quality. So there's a massive amount of diarrhea, diarrhea illness, fevers, infectious diseases, some that we don't even know what they are, because the facilities are not there to be able to properly diagnose, to do extensive diagnosis. And it's a combination of an absolutely catastrophic situation, a lack of food, lack of water, and these rapid diseases, people living in very crowded conditions. It's just unimaginable as their young teenagers are going to fetch food and are being shot at. They're being literally hunted down. They're hunted dead.”

8. CLOSE-UP OF EMACIATED BABY LYING ON BED AS MOTHER SHOWS ITS TORSO

9. ANOTHER MALNOURISHED BABY LYING ON BED, HOLDING MOTHER’S FINGER

10. MOTHER SHOWING MALNOURISHED BABY’S THIN BACK

11. FEMALE PALESTINIAN HEALTH WORKER SPEAKING AS DR. COOPER LSITENS / PALESTINAIN COLLEAGUE LAUGHING IN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR


KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE - JULY 31: Dr. Thomas Cooper, an American pediatric health specialist volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, has described an unprecedented hunger crisis in Gaza, with severe malnutrition threatening the lives of countless children.

In an interview with Anadolu, Dr. Cooper, who has been working in Gaza for just three days, said the situation is beyond imagination, with children as young as five collapsing from starvation.

"I’ve seen children in the emergency room passing out from lack of food," he said. "They are completely famished—those with chronic illnesses, heart conditions, and neurological issues are in life-threatening conditions. This is absolutely unacceptable."

Dr. Cooper reported that basic food items have become unaffordable, with a kilogram of meat or sugar costing around $100. Medical staff, including pediatricians, are also suffering from acute hunger, surviving on minimal meals for days.

"People are saying that there's food here, why the price is so incredibly high and there's such a scarcity of food. This is just absolutely unacceptable. Definitely not true," he said.

The doktor said people claiming there’s no starvation in Gaza are lying, “I’ve seen starving children with my own eyes."

Dr. Cooper called on Steve Witkoff, a representative of former U.S. President Donald Trump, to visit Gaza and witness the crisis firsthand.

“I would like to invite apparently Mr. Witcoff is going to be here not too far away…I would invite him to come here and see for himself what's happening here,” he said. "I'll meet him in person and I'll show him into the hospital. I would say this is so unacceptable in this day and age to basically and I've seen that also with my own eyes."

The doctor also highlighted the deadly consequences of Israel’s military offensive, describing an 11-year-old boy paralyzed by a gunshot while searching for food.

"The trauma bay is full of casualties because I walked there to go to my room. I mean, I got blood on my shoes right now because we walked through the trauma bay," he said. “What is happening to why 11 12 year old boys are being shot with these powerful weapons is beyond comprehension. And that also drives the starvation because these kids are going to get food for the families. This is barbaric. It's a crime scene.”

Since October 2023, at least 163 people, including 93 children, have died from starvation in Gaza, according to reports. Israel’s 18-year blockade and the shutdown of all crossings since March 2 have exacerbated the crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned that "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza."

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel’s offensive continues, with over 60,000 Palestinians killed, most of them women and children.

Dr. Cooper’s testimony underscores the urgent need for humanitarian intervention as Gaza faces an unprecedented collapse in food, water, and medical supplies.

"This is a crime scene," he repeated. "The world must act before more children die."

Dr. Cooper also described how malnutrition and contaminated water are killing Gaza’s children: "Undernourished and lacking nutrients, vitamins… They're also thirsty. There's no water. And the water they have is of poor quality. There's a massive amount of diarrhea, fevers, infectious diseases—some we can't even diagnose because we lack medical facilities."

One of the most chilling revelations was Dr. Cooper’s account of children being shot while searching for food: "Young teenagers are going to fetch food and are being shot at. They're being literally hunted down. They're hunted dead."

He recounted the case of an 11-year-old boy paralyzed by an Israeli bullet while trying to bring food to his family.


Writing by Sibel Uygun