Pete Buttigieg

Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
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Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race on March 1, 2020. This page is no longer being updated.
Buttigieg has positioned himself as a moderate and has called for generational change in political leadership. The second-term mayor is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and was a Rhodes scholar.
Harvard College, B.A., 2004; University of Oxford, Rhodes scholar, 2007
January 19, 1982
Chasten Buttigieg
Episcopalian
US Navy Reserve, 2009-2017;
Consultant at McKinsey and Co., 2007-2010

BUTTIGIEG IN THE NEWS

2020 Presidential Debates Fast Facts
Updated 11:56 AM ET, Thu Oct 5, 2023
Here's a look at the 2020 presidential debates. June 26, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Elizabeth Warren Transcript June 27, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang Transcript July 30, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson Transcript July 31, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang Transcript September 12, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Houston, Texas Hosts: ABC News and Univision Moderators: Linsey Davis, David Muir, Jorge Ramos and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang Transcript October 15, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Westerville, Ohio Hosts: CNN and The New York Times Moderators: Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Marc Lacey Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcripts: 8pm ET, 9pm ET, 10pm ET November 20, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Atlanta Hosts: MSNBC and The Washington Post Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker and Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript December 19, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Los Angeles Hosts: PBS NewsHour and Politico Moderators: Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor, Amna Nawaz and Judy Woodruff Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript January 14, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Des Moines, Iowa Hosts: CNN and Des Moines Register Moderators: Wolf Blitzer, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Abby Phillip Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcripts: 9pm ET, 10pm ET February 7, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Manchester, New Hampshire Hosts: ABC, Apple News and WMUR-TV Moderators: Linsey Davis, Monica Hernandez, David Muir, Adam Sexton and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang February 19, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Hosts: MSNBC, NBC News, The Nevada Independent and Telemundo Moderators: Vanessa Hauc, Lester Holt, Hallie Jackson, Jon Ralston and Chuck Todd Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Transcript February 25, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Charleston, South Carolina Hosts: CBS News, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Twitter Moderators: Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell and Bill Whitaker Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcript March 15, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Washington, DC Hosts: CNN and Univision Moderators: Dana Bash, Ilia Calderón and Jake Tapper Participants: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Transcript September 29, 2020 Event Type: First Presidential Debate Location: Cleveland, Ohio Hosts: Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Moderator: Chris Wallace Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript October 7, 2020 Event Type: Vice Presidential Debate Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Hosts: The University of Utah Moderator: Susan Page Participants: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Transcript October 15, 2020 October 9, 2020 - The Commission on Presidential Debates cancels the second presidential debate after Trump declines to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis. October 22, 2020 Event Type: Third Presidential Debate Location: Nashville, Tennessee Hosts: Belmont University Moderator: Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript
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STANCES ON THE ISSUES

climate crisis
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Buttigieg released a plan in September 2019 that aims to move the US to clean energy and agriculture, shield existing communities and industries from the effects of climate change and lead a global response to the crisis. He calls for the Department of Defense to set up a Climate Watch Floor and would create a new senior climate security role within the department. He aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, pledging to invest $25 billion annually in research by 2025 – a move he compares to the Manhattan Project – and to set a price on carbon, generating money that would be returned to Americans as a dividend. He says his plan would generate 3 million new jobs as the economy transitions to clean energy production. Buttigieg pledges to spend $5 billion annually on grants for rural communities and ensure that new infrastructure “can withstand extreme weather and sea level rise.” He calls for integrating climate change into national security planning. Buttigieg supports the Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. He has also proposed his own plan, which would impose a carbon tax on corporations and polluters and pass on the money raised from that tax to Americans as a dividend. Buttigieg has said he would rejoin the Paris climate accord, the landmark 2015 deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon. Buttigieg says he wants to ensure the US – “not China” – will lead the climate response globally, and suggests he’d use sanctions to push other countries to adopt carbon-pricing programs. He has also said that while the Paris accord is critical, he would like to hold a “Pittsburgh summit” within his first 100 days as president, where cities would come together to work on curbing emissions. More on Buttigieg’s climate crisis policy
economy
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On the campaign trail, Buttigieg has clearly stated his view that manufacturing jobs are not returning to their previous levels because of factors like automation. In July 2019, he introduced a plan aimed at protecting workers and putting big tech companies firmly in the hot seat. Buttigieg would guarantee the right to join a union for all American workers including gig economy workers – like Uber and Lyft drivers, who are considered independent contractors and not employees of the companies. Buttigieg is no fan of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the trade deal with Canada and Mexico, and has suggested that it caused significant and largely irreversible job loss. He has also focused on the need for the federal government to spur entrepreneurship in underserved communities. He has proposed having the government “triple the number of entrepreneurs from underserved areas – particularly ones of color – within 10 years” by offering grants and incentivizing investment in underserved areas and overhauling credit scoring as a way to open up credit opportunities for traditionally underserved communities. In August 2019, Buttigieg rolled out a proposal to provide $500 million in federal funding for “Regional Innovation Clusters.” Those would allow state and local governments to take the lead on developing economic projects based on the specific needs of individual rural communities through a grant program judged by a panel of entrepreneurs across the country. Buttigieg pledges up to $5 billion to expand apprenticeship networks across the country “to ensure an apprenticeship program in a growing industry is available within 30 miles of every American,” including underserved rural areas. Buttigieg seeks to create “Community Renewal visas,” with the aim of attracting high-skilled immigrants with the promise of attaining green cards at the end of three-year residencies in rural communities. Buttigieg also supports raising the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 and passing paid family and medical leave. More on Buttigieg’s economic policy
education
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Buttigieg – who, along with his husband, Chasten, has student loan debt that combined amounts to six figures – does not support making college tuition-free. He argues that lower- and middle-income families should benefit from tuition-free public college but not the children of the wealthy, or, as he put it once, “even the children of billionaires.” Buttigieg has looked to tie education affordability to his national service plan. The mayor, who himself served in the Navy Reserve, said his administration would provide support and incentives for students who decide to go into a service field before or after college. Buttigieg says he supports charter schools in some instances, but he said in Iowa earlier this year that “for-profit charter schools should not be our vision for the future.” His plan to combat racial inequality in the United States would increase resources to historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions by $25 billion. More on Buttigieg’s education policy
gun violence
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Buttigieg released a plan in August 2019 that would increase federal funding to combat hate and violent extremism, boost federal research into gun violence and work with social media companies to stem incendiary rhetoric online. He would dedicate $1 billion to law enforcement, including increasing the FBI’s field staff, for “sufficient resources to counter the growing tide of white nationalist violence.” Those funds would also be reinvested in Department of Homeland Security efforts to fight extremism, violence and hate. Buttigieg supports universal background checks. He has also backed a nationwide gun licensing system and a ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons. As mayor of South Bend, he’s long had a focus on reducing gun violence. Buttigieg joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group of more than 1,000 current and former mayors advocating stricter gun laws, in 2013 and supported the South Bend Group Violence Intervention, a program aimed at combating gun violence in the city.Buttigieg often talks about gun laws through a personal lens. As the youngest candidate in the 2020 race, he grew up in an era when school shootings have become common. As a veteran, he has training and experience with weapons. More on Buttigieg’s gun violence policy
healthcare
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Buttigieg supports what he calls “Medicare for all who want it” – an idea that he says is a pathway to the “Medicare for All” proposal backed by other candidates, which would create a national government health care plan and essentially eliminate the private insurance industry. Under Buttigieg’s plan, private health insurance would still exist for consumers. Buttigieg also focuses on health care in his Douglass Plan, aimed at combating inequality for African Americans. He plans to diversify the medical workforce and create “health equity zones” to address health care disparities in certain geographic locations. In August 2019, he proposed a plan to improve health care access in rural communities by waiving visa requirements to attract immigrant doctors, increasing access to telehealth services by expanding high speed internet and creating a new office within the Department of Health and Human Services. Buttigieg plans to reduce maternal mortality rates by funding pre-maternity homes and offering subsidies for housing and transportation. He would also extend Medicaid coverage for one-year postpartum. Currently, Medicaid typically covers only 60 days of postpartum care. In October 2019, Buttigieg released a plan aimed at reducing prescription drug costs and jump-starting pharmaceutical innovation. The plan, titled “Affordable Medicine for All,” would penalize pharmaceutical companies that raise prices by more than the rate of inflation and by increasing the annual Branded Prescription Drug Fee, a section of the Affordable Care Act that sets an annual fee according to each manufacturer’s share of drug sales that goes to government programs like Medicare Part D and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Buttigieg also released an LGBTQ rights plan that proposes eradicating HIV/AIDS by 2030, ensuring access to the HIV drug PrEP for all who need it, finding a cure for AIDS and ensuring health insurance providers cover trans-specific medical care. More on Buttigieg’s health care policy
immigration
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Buttigieg has said he wants a comprehensive immigration plan, which would include providing a pathway to citizenship for those who received Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants, including people brought to the US as minors. He also calls for addressing the backlogs in the immigration and asylum processes and having “reasonable” security measures at the US-Mexico border. “I don’t have a problem with enhanced border security, perhaps to include fencing,” Buttigieg told PBS in February 2019. He suggested border security cannot be simplified with “just putting up a wall from sea to shining sea.” He has also proposed ending family separation at the border and evaluating practices from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection “to ensure similar humanitarian crises never happen again.” More on Buttigieg’s immigration policy

LATEST POLITICAL NEWS

Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas
Updated 5:36 AM ET, Tue Mar 19, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Gaza's entire population is "at severe levels of acute food insecurity." “According to the most respected measures of these things, 100% of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That is the first time an entire population has been so classified,” Blinken said during a press conference in the Philippines. Blinken called the war a “horrific humanitarian situation for women, for children, for men,” and implored Israel to protect civilians.  “It is absolutely incumbent on Israel, as it acts to defend itself from October 7 from happening again, to make it a priority to protect civilians — those who were caught in harm’s way, and to provide for those who desperately need humanitarian assistance.” Blinken said he urged Israel to have a plan for Gaza after the war, which he said he hoped would end soon. The plan, he said, would have to be “consistent with Israel’s needs to defend itself and make sure that October 7 never happens again.”  Famine warning: According to a UN-backed report, all 2.2 million people in the enclave do not have enough food to eat, with half of the population on the brink of starvation and famine projected to arrive in northern Gaza “anytime between mid-March and May 2024.” Diplomatic tour: Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt to meet with government leaders this week and discuss efforts to reach an “immediate ceasefire agreement” between Israel and Hamas. China’s Foreign Ministry said its envoy Wang Kejian spoke with Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the first meeting between a Chinese and Hamas official publicly acknowledged by Beijing since October 7. During the meeting on Sunday in Qatar, Wang and Haniyeh “exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues,” the ministry said. Haniyeh stressed "the need to quickly stop the aggression and massacres," for the Israeli military to withdraw from Gaza, and “achieve the political goals and aspirations of establishing an independent Palestinian state," according to a Hamas media office statement. Last Wednesday, Wang visited the occupied West Bank and met with Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, the Chinese ministry said. Wang told Al-Maliki that China is “deeply concerned” about the war and the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza — and that China has been working hard to bring about a ceasefire and protect civilians.  He then visited Israel last Thursday and met with Hagai Shagrir, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s head of Asia and Pacific Bureau, the ministry said. Wang told Israeli officials a top priority is a “comprehensive ceasefire, cessation of the war, guarantee of humanitarian aid and protection of civilians,” reiterating calls for a two-state solution. Wang is the first Chinese diplomat known to be sent to the West Bank and Israel since the war began. Middle East tour: Since March 10, Wang has been on a diplomatic tour in the Middle East, where he met with officials in Egypt, the West Bank, Israel and Qatar, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.  Read more about China's role in the conflict. Famine is imminent in northern Gaza, where 70% of the population is suffering "catastrophic" levels of hunger, a UN-backed report said Monday. All 2.2 million people in Gaza do not have enough food to eat, with half of the population on the brink of starvation and famine projected to arrive in the north “anytime between mid-March and May 2024,” according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report. Acute hunger and malnutrition have already “far exceeded” the threshold for famine in northern Gaza and the IPC warns of a “major acceleration of death and malnutrition.” This is the “the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded… anywhere, anytime,” by the IPC, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Acute hunger and malnutrition have already “far exceeded” the threshold for famine in northern Gaza and the IPC warns of a “major acceleration of death and malnutrition.” “Between mid-March and mid-July, in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah, half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions,” the report warned. Scarce supplies mean that “virtually all households are skipping meals every day” and adults are going without so their children can eat, the report said. One in three children below the age of 2 is “acutely malnourished." Famine could be halted if aid organizations were allowed full access to Gaza to bring food, water, and other supplies to the civilian population, the report said. Read more on the food security crisis in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt to meet with government leaders this week and discuss efforts to reach an “immediate ceasefire agreement” between Israel and Hamas, according to the State Department. The deal would secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, the State Department said. The agreement would also ensure "intensified international efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and coordination on post-conflict planning for Gaza, including ensuring Hamas can no longer govern or repeat the attacks of October 7th," the State Department said. Blinken also plans to discuss how to end Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some background: In Qatar, truce talks are taking place between Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Israel’s Mossad chief David Barnea, and Egyptian officials. The talks touch on a ceasefire deal in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas, a source with knowledge of the discussions told CNN. Blinken's visit will be part of a larger trip, which includes stops in Austria, South Korea, and the Philippines. Israeli authorities are preparing to send a group of Palestinian patients who were being treated in East Jerusalem hospitals back to Gaza this week. The group of 22 Gazan Palestinians includes five newborn babies and their mothers, cancer patients now in remission, and a few companions who had accompanied them, according to hospital officials. They had all received permission from Israeli authorities to travel to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem for advanced medical care – most before the October Hamas 7 attack on Israel. But staying in East Jerusalem is no longer an option. The Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian affairs, COGAT, has for months been pushing East Jerusalem hospital officials for a list of patients who no longer require in-patient medical treatment to send them back to Gaza, those officials told CNN. The patients on that list, which has been seen by CNN, are expected to board buses for the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel and Gaza on Wednesday. Among them will be Nima Abu Garrara, who was brought from Rafah to East Jerusalem while pregnant with twins and gave birth on October 5. All her twins have known is the safety of a room at Makassed Hospital. Soon, that will be torn away, traded for the reality of war. Abu Garrara fears a grim future in Gaza, where an Israeli military ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah looms. “I’ll be the one responsible for anything that harms them," she said referring to her twins. Read more about the patients who will be sent back to Gaza. The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials "soon" in Washington to discuss alternatives to a planned military ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are sheltering after fleeing fighting in northern areas. In a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe. Biden said Israel's plans for a major operation in Rafah could be catastrophic for Palestinian civilians, and asked the Israeli leader to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss alternatives. Netanyahu agreed to the request, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting would be held at the end of this week or early next week. Biden's concerns over Israel’s planned Rafah offensive fell within three areas: Civilians sheltering in Rafah have nowhere safe to go Rafah is an entry point for critical humanitarian assistance Neighboring Egypt has voiced serious concerns about a potential military operation in the city. In the call, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving its war goals, including eliminating Hamas and releasing hostages. Here are the other major developments in the conflict: "Fierce clashes" around Gaza's largest hospital: Hamas' military wing said its fighters engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces around Al-Shifa Medical Complex after Israel said it launched an incursion because the Gaza City hospital was being used by "senior Hamas terrorists." The Health Ministry said there were multiple casualties at the complex, where about 30,000 people were sheltering, and the head of the World Health Organization said "hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  Mass arrests at Al-Shifa: The IDF said it arrested over 200 "terror suspects" at Al-Shifa hospital. One was Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, the network said. The US is aware of the arrest and has asked Israel for more information, a State Department official said. Humanitarian crisis: A report published by the UN World Food Programme warned that sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza between now and May. The top US humanitarian aid official called it "a horrific milestone" and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to WHO and Palestinian officials, and doctors say malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries. Hamas commander killed: Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, according to the White House. Marwan Issa was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel, the IDF said last week. On Monday, an IDF spokesperson did not confirm the information but said Israeli forces attacked an underground compound used by senior Hamas officials on March 9. The IDF was not able to verify if Issa was killed, the spokesperson said. ##Catch Up## US forces destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Monday, according to US Central Command. The strike took place between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Sanaa time), CENTCOM said in a statement, calling it an act of "self-defense." "It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said. US forces have been conducting similar strikes in the area where tensions have heightened since the Iran-backed militant groups began attacking commercial vessels in the key waterway. Earlier this month, a ballistic missile by the Houthis struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members in its first fatal attack since October. The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials “soon” in Washington to “discuss alternative approaches that would target key elements of Hamas and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground operation in Rafah,” the White House said in a statement. President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and voiced "deep concerns" over Israel's planned major operation in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It was the first known phone conversation between the leaders in over a month as their rift deepens. Biden asked Netanyahu to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss an alternative approach for going after Hamas in Rafah, to which Netanyahu agreed. The meeting could take place at the end of this week or early next week, Sullivan said. The leaders also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and hostage negotiations in Qatar, according to a White House statement on the call. Emphasis on northern Gaza: The leaders discussed “the urgent need” to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, especially in the north of the enclave. “The President stressed the urgent need to significantly increase the flow of lifesaving aid reaching those in need throughout Gaza, with special emphasis on the north,” the White House said. Malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries in war-torn Gaza’s collapsing health care system, according to doctors. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. Acute malnutrition doubled within one month among children in northern Gaza, according to UNICEF. Project Hope is a US-based health and humanitarian aid organization that operates in regions facing health crises. Its emergency teams report that 5%-15% of the children arriving at its two clinics in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah are malnourished. “Malnutrition amplifies the fragility of the situation,” Rondi Anderson of Project Hope said. “If you’re malnourished, you’re weak. A child’s immune system is weak, it gets infected, then the healing can’t happen, and it gets prolonged.” CNN spoke to multiple doctors who have been to Gaza since the war began. They reported seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries like limb injuries as well as burns, which present multiple layers of treatment. In these situations, a patient needs good pain management, nutrition, antibiotic care and fluid management. In Gaza, “all those four pillars are gone,” said Dr. Amber Alayyan from Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Adding a malnourished state to that means the healing is complicated, she added. “People who have really huge injuries are dying on the spot,” she said. “At the beginning, we were seeing people with really big abdominal injuries and thoracic injuries and things like that. And now, I think that I truly think that they’re dying on the spot, because we’re seeing fewer and fewer. You do see them, but they don’t necessarily make it to the ICU very quickly.” The top US humanitarian aid official called a report warning that famine is set to break out in northern Gaza sometime between now and May “a horrific milestone” and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid into the enclave. “We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes,” US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement. The report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that the sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza and "projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024."�� Power said the "catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition" detailed in the report "should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality." “With just two previous Famine declarations in the twenty-first century, this is a horrific milestone," she added. Doctors Without Borders recounted reports from its staff of heavy fighting around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza as Israeli forces conducted a military offensive inside and around the facility on Monday. A staff member of the organization, also called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), reported hearing “drones, tanks, and shelling” near the hospital in the early hours of Monday, witnessing a fire rising from Al-Shifa's main building.  Clashes were also reported around the organization's clinic and office in Gaza City where some staff and their families are sheltering. "We call on all warring parties to respect the grounds and perimeter of Al-Shifa Hospital and ensure the safety of medical personnel, patients, and civilians," MSF said in a statement. According to MSF staff, Israeli forces conducted “mass arrests in the area surrounding Al-Shifa,” and one of the organization’s staff members is currently unreachable. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israel has been waiting for the “right time to act” at Al-Shifa Hospital, in comments addressing Israel’s military operation there. Hagari said that the IDF arrested over 200 “terror suspects” who are “now under investigation.” The World Food Programme released a statement Monday on their Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report about food security in the Gaza Strip that found 88% of the region’s entire population faces “emergency or worse” food insecurity and warns that famine in northern Gaza is “imminent.” “People in Gaza are starving to death right now,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.”  The IPC report, which was written by a group of NGOs, governments and UN agencies warned that "between mid-March and mid-July, in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah, half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5)." Here's what else we know: According to the report, for the 300,000 people that remain trapped in northern Gaza, "famine is expected to arrive between now and May,” and one in three children in Gaza below the age of two are “acutely malnourished.”    Southern Gaza is also slowly nearing famine, according to the report, which found that the region may reach famine conditions by July.  The report goes on to say that the nearing famine could be halted if aid organizations are allowed full access to the Gaza Strip to bring food, water and other nutritional products to the civilian population, and that “a humanitarian ceasefire is necessary,” for this to occur. The World Health Organization's chief expressed concern about the situation at the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza after an Israeli military raid on the medical complex. The organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the concerning situation in a post on X, saying: "Hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  "We are terribly worried about the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern #Gaza, which is endangering health workers, patients and civilians," he said. A displaced Palestinian, Hamada Abdelhadi, told CNN that Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers had been “demolishing and excavating the outer edges of the hospital yards” as part of the operation.  Ghebreyesus said the hospital had only recently managed to restore "minimal health services," warning that fighting there or "militarization of the facility jeopardize health services, access for ambulances, and delivery of life-saving supplies." 
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