Boys clean beach to raise money for Gaza children

Young boys who were left horrified by pictures of starving Palestinian children have started cleaning their local beach and parks to raise money for them.

Brothers Zac, 12, Abel, 10, eight-year-old Todd, and their cousins, Koah, 11, and Phoenix, eight, are raising money for Save the Children.

They say their message is simple but powerful: "We're all kids. We all deserve safety."

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has said 470,000 people in Gaza (22% of the population in the territory) are facing an extreme lack of food.

Earlier this week, Zac told BBC Essex: "Me and Abel believe that no child should have to starve to death.

"Some of the videos coming out of Gaza are quite horrific.

"Every kid is a kid, and I didn't want to just keep sitting by and seeing that happen."

A video of children's entertainer Miss Rachel talking about the humanitarian crisis on her YouTube channel first sparked the idea for the youngsters.

Zac continued: "We wanted to have a way to raise money so they wouldn't have to starve anymore."

The team have exceeded their £500 target and say they will continue their efforts beyond the summer holiday.

"We've decided we're going to do clean-ups until the situation in Gaza is over," he added.

"We were cleaning up by Southchurch Park and only in a few minutes we had three bags full."

Medics have been warning of shortages in vital food and medical supplies for weeks, after Israel began a months-long blockade of all aid and goods into Gaza.

This has since been partially lifted, but humanitarian agencies have said more aid must be allowed to enter to Gaza to prevent famine and malnutrition worsening.

United Nations (UN) agencies have blamed the crisis on Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, denies there is starvation in the territory and insists his country is not blocking aid.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.