WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Emaciated Gazan child shown in front-page photos has cystic fibrosis and was sent to Italy for treatment.
OUR VERDICT
False. There is no evidence the child has cystic fibrosis or that he was evacuated to Italy - these details are associated with a different child.
AAP FACTCHECK - A severely emaciated Palestinian child who appeared on the front page of newspapers around the world as a symbol of starvation in Gaza has been misidentified in a social media post that denies he is malnourished.
The claim appears in a Facebook post by former Victorian state MP Bernie Finn, who says the child is not starving but has a pre-existing medical condition for which he is now receiving treatment overseas, thanks to Israel.
The caption reads: "The little boy has Cystic Fibrosis but multiple media outlets - including those in Australia - used his photo as an example of a starving child in Gaza.
"The reality is Israel shipped him out to Italy for medical treatment weeks ago. He was never starving or malnourished. This is 'journalism'??"
The post includes part of a social media graphic, originally published by The Australian newspaper, which shows the July 25, 2025, editions of The New York Times (NYT) and The Sydney Morning Herald.
The front pages feature photos of a woman holding a skeletal child, alongside headlines reporting widespread starvation in Gaza.
AAP FactCheck asked Mr Finn for evidence to support his claim but received no response.
The front-page images were taken by photojournalists Saher Alghorra for the NYT and Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini for Anadolu Agency, which supplied them to Getty Images.
Captions on Getty Images identify 18-month-old Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq.
The woman is identified in an ABC report as his mother Hedaya al-Muta.
There is no record Muhammad suffers from cystic fibrosis and he has not been sent overseas by Israel for medical treatment, as claimed in the Facebook post.
The details relating to cystic fibrosis and evacuation from Gaza are associated with a different Palestinian child, Osama al-Raqab, whose photograph has also been widely published.
Suzan Marouf, a clinical nutrition specialist at Patient Friends hospital in Gaza told multiple news outlets, including Anadolu Agency and NPR, that Muhammad was suffering severe malnutrition as a consequence of the ongoing siege.
Although he also had congenital health problems (including, according to NPR, muscular dystrophy), Dr Marouf told Anadolu: "The medical issues he had weren't significantly affecting his weight."
His condition deteriorated to "acute malnutrition" once "the siege and the closure of crossings depleted hospitals' medicine stocks and nutritional supplements", she added.
Muhammad's mother was also interviewed by fact-checking website Misbar, the NYT, the BBC and the ABC, explaining her son has various health conditions but rapidly lost weight and deteriorated due to a shortage of food and displacement.
She said Muhammad's weight dropped from 9kg to 6kg in recent weeks, and shared photos of when he was younger, in which he appears healthier.
The other child, Osama al-Raqab, was medically evacuated from Gaza to Italy in June 2025.
He has been photographed and featured in news reports from the Associated Press and NBC.
Osama was also being treated at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, for severe malnutrition and malabsorption, according to a CBC report.
At one stage he weighed only 5kg, UNICEF reported on Instagram.
Italy's Consulate General in Jerusalem confirmed Osama was transported from Gaza on June 11, 2025, for medical treatment.
Osama appears with his mother in a video published by the United Nations documenting medical evacuees leaving Gaza on that day (timestamp four minutes 50 seconds).
Seventeen Palestinian patients and 53 companions were transported to Italy on three humanitarian flights using C-130 aircraft from the Italian Air Force, an Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release says.
Mr Finn's suggestion Israel was responsible for "shipping out" medical evacuees is misleading.
While Israel approves medical evacuations, they are coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Civil Protection Mechanism, various Italian government ministries, and the country's embassy and consulate in Israel, according to the Italian ministry.
A spokesperson for the WHO told AAP FactCheck it works with Israeli authorities to secure approvals for evacuees and their companions once a list of approved patients is provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health.
A WHO infographic explains a doctor must refer a patient for treatment not available in Gaza, then a Gazan Ministry of Health committee approves the decision, before a list of patients is provided to the WHO.
The WHO then coordinates with a host country, submits documents to the Israeli authorities for security clearance, and evacuates approved patients.
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) is an Israeli Defense Forces unit.
A spokesperson confirmed to AAP FactCheck that medical evacuation from Gaza is subject to a request submitted by a host third country, as well as security screening from the relevant authorities, adding: "COGAT makes every effort to advance and approve patient evacuation requests."
The two boys are being used by some to suggest reports of starvation in Gaza are exaggerated or even made up.
However, reports of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza have been documented by Palestinians, journalists and multiple humanitarian organisations.
The WHO has reported 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 of which occurred in July, including 24 children under five.
The Red Cross also reported severe malnutrition in Gaza and said 470,000 people face starvation.
Lucia Goldsmith, Oxfam Australia's head of humanitarian, told SBS News children with underlying health conditions like Muhammad and Osama may already face difficulties in processing nutrients, making them more susceptible to malnutrition.
Israel blocked all food from entering Gaza from March 2, 2025, to May 19, but has since allowed a limited amount of aid to enter the enclave, the BBC reported.
Israel's deputy ambassador to Australia, Amir Meron, told reporters in late July that Israel does not "recognise any famine or any starvation" in Gaza.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the claim "beyond comprehension", The Guardian Australia reported.
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