Aug 28, 2026 · 50 min · 14 segments
Mahmud Almadhoun ran a soup kitchen in the north of the Gaza Strip. In November 2024, he was killed. A reporter tries to answer a big question. Was Mahmud intentionally targeted? And if so, what does…
Tim HowardGuest
PJ VogtHost
Starting in early 2024, Yasin and other colleagues at Die Zeit had been hearing these rumors of horrific malnutrition in Gaza-
... and of children dying of malnutrition because not enough food was getting in.
But it was also a really difficult thing to report because journalists are not allowed to go to Gaza.
So they start calling around, looking for people that they can talk to just to, like, report out this story about malnutrition.
And the, by far, best source who Yasin meets in the process is this guy, Mahmoud Al-Maduon, who is the head of a soup kitchen in the north of Gaza in a place called Beit Lahiya.
So he reaches out, and Mahmoud is totally willing to talk to him, and Yasin was also really just surprised that Mahmoud spoke really openly about everything that was happening in a way that is not what he was used to have happening with other people there, with doctors, with nurses, with ordinary people living in Gaza.
What do you mean, like... 'Cause I imagine there's a lot of people would be open about it.
He was willing to talk critically about what was happening with the aid deliveries that were coming to Gaza that were supposed to be going directly to people.
He spoke very openly about the black market there, which meant, like, food was coming in, but you could only get it if you had a lot of money.
And the average people didn't have money, which is a part of the reason there's so much malnutrition.
And Yasin stays in touch with Mahmoud as the situation in Gaza gets way, way worse.
All he's able to get his hands on, after a lot of calling around, is a video of Mahmoud's corpse.
And Yasin, he wanted to basically know, could he solve this? Why exactly was Mahmoud killed? And that is what the podcast is.
Starting in early 2024, Yasin and other colleagues at Die Zeit had been hearing these rumors of horrific malnutrition in Gaza-
... and of children dying of malnutrition because not enough food was getting in.
But it was also a really difficult thing to report because journalists are not allowed to go to Gaza.
So they start calling around, looking for people that they can talk to just to, like, report out this story about malnutrition.
And the, by far, best source who Yasin meets in the process is this guy, Mahmoud Al-Maduon, who is the head of a soup kitchen in the north of Gaza in a place called Beit Lahiya.
So he reaches out, and Mahmoud is totally willing to talk to him, and Yasin was also really just surprised that Mahmoud spoke really openly about everything that was happening in a way that is not what he was used to have happening with other people there, with doctors, with nurses, with ordinary people living in Gaza.
What do you mean, like... 'Cause I imagine there's a lot of people would be open about it.
He was willing to talk critically about what was happening with the aid deliveries that were coming to Gaza that were supposed to be going directly to people.
He spoke very openly about the black market there, which meant, like, food was coming in, but you could only get it if you had a lot of money.
And the average people didn't have money, which is a part of the reason there's so much malnutrition.
And Yasin stays in touch with Mahmoud as the situation in Gaza gets way, way worse.
All he's able to get his hands on, after a lot of calling around, is a video of Mahmoud's corpse.
And Yasin, he wanted to basically know, could he solve this? Why exactly was Mahmoud killed? And that is what the podcast is.
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