More than 3,500 children below the age of five years “face imminent death by starvation”, Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) has said, adding that some 70,000 children are being hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition amid more than two months of total Israeli blockade.

“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the GMO statement on Telegram said on Sunday.

“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.

At least 57 Palestinians have starved to death, causing global outrage, but that has failed to convince Israel to allow entry of aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.

A shortage of food and supplies has driven the territory towards starvation, according to aid agencies. Supplies to treat and prevent malnutrition are depleted and quickly running out as documented cases of malnutrition rise.

The price of what little food is still available in the market is unaffordable for most in Gaza, where the United Nations says more than 80 percent of the population relies on aid.

Aid groups and rights campaigners have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Israel, for its part, insists the blockade is necessary to pressure Hamas to release the captives it still holds. Of the 59 captives still in Gaza, 24 are believed to be alive.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,495 Palestinians and wounded 118,366, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The GMO updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.

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The army says an airbase, cargo warehouse and some civilian facilities were targeted in Port Sudan in the first RSF attack in the eastern city.

Sudan’s army says the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a military airbase and other facilities in the vicinity of Port Sudan airport.

The army said on Sunday that the airbase was targeted using a drone, as well as a cargo warehouse and some civilian facilities, in the first attack in the eastern city by the RSF.

There are reports of some damage after drones hit an ammunition depot.

“Both the civilian and military airports are in the same place. What we know from residents in the port city is that five drones were launched by the RSF and targeted the airbase,” Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said, reporting from the capital, Khartoum.

“There is a section of the airport that is for civilian flights, but there are military flights that land in the same airport. So, it’s not clear if the drones were targeting the military or civilian facilities or both,” she said.

“There are no reports of civilian casualties yet, and it’s not clear if the RSF was trying to target the fighter jet that was displayed in an air force show there on Saturday afternoon.”

A Sudanese passenger plane was redirected to Jeddah Airport after being unable to land at Port Sudan Airport, according to navigation data from Flight Radar.

The data showed that the plane took off from Dubai International Airport but had to change its route and make an emergency landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport. The plane performed a circular maneuver over the Red Sea before heading back towards Jeddah.

Sudan’s army and the RSF have been engaged in intense fighting since April 2023, with the war damaging the country’s infrastructure and displacing millions.

Alvarez sets up a bout with ex-welterweight champ Terrence Crawford after beating Scull by unanimous decision.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has re-unified the IBF super middleweight championship with his WBA (Super), WBC and WBO belts with a unanimous decision victory over William Scull, setting up a bout with former welterweight champion Terence Crawford in September.

Cuba’s Scull, who had an advantage in height and reach over Alvarez, was unable to find an answer to the Mexican’s methodical stalking and effective body blows as he suffered the first loss of his professional boxing career on Sunday.

“For me, it’s a boring fight. [Scull was] not trying to win, just trying to survive. I hate these kinds of fights,” Alvarez said in his post-fight interview after all three judges awarded him the victory (115-113, 116-112, 119-109).

Alvarez, who was stripped of the IBF strap last year after choosing to fight Edgar Berlanga over the sanctioning body’s number-one contender Scull, has now become the undisputed 168-pound champion for the second time.

Scull’s quick movements were not enough to evade Alvarez’s steady onslaught early on as the Mexican landed strong body blows in the second and fourth rounds, leaving Scull momentarily off balance.

Alvarez, fighting outside the United States and Mexico for the first time, continued stalking the Cuban in the fifth round, but Scull fought back, breaking Alvarez’s guard with a right uppercut and pushing him back before catching him with a counter.

“Don’t let this guy get bigger and more confident,” Alvarez’s corner warned him at the end of the sixth round after Scull caught him with another right hand before Alvarez responded with body shots.

Alvarez landed combinations to the body in the seventh round, and caught Scull with a lead left hook near the ropes in the eighth.

Measured attacks to the body continued from Alvarez, as he landed 40 body blows in the bout while Scull managed only six, claiming the 63rd win of his professional career.

Alvarez, 34, improved to 63-2-2 with 39 knockouts after doing enough on his Saudi debut which continued his tradition of fighting during the Mexican festival weekend of Cinco de Mayo.

The Mexican said he was looking forward to returning to the ring against undefeated Crawford in Las Vegas.

“Crawford is one of the best out there, I like to share the ring with that kind of a fighter. It’s my pleasure,” he said.

American Crawford, who became the undisputed welterweight champion with a knockout win over Errol Spence Jr in 2023, said he was ready to take on Alvarez as they faced off in the ring.

“In September, I’ll show the world what greatness looks like,” Crawford said.

Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Seasons promotion in February.

In recent years, the kingdom has been pouring money into boxing events as part of Saudi Arabia’s oil-funded thrust into the sporting world, which has drawn accusations of “sportswashing” its dire human rights record.

Along with Formula One, the LIV Golf tour and attracting several ageing football stars to its domestic league, Saudi Arabia was named last year as the host of the 2034 football World Cup.