FOURTEEN more Palestinians, including two children, died from starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the 24 hours to yesterday, reports the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
This brings the total number of starvation-related deaths in the Strip to 147, including 88 children.
In a brief statement, the ministry said the latest deaths occurred in Gaza hospitals amid worsening famine conditions, with some victims succumbing simply to exhaustion from prolonged hunger.
Since March 2nd, the Israeli occupation has sealed off Gaza’s border crossings, cutting off the entry of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid.
The total blockade has triggered a catastrophic famine, which aid groups and United Nations agencies warn is spiralling out of control.
The ongoing starvation crisis is part of Israel’s war of genocide against Gaza’s civilian population, which has already left tens of thousands killed or wounded, and devastated the territory’s infrastructure.
Nasser Hospital reported that five Palestinians seeking aid were killed and others injured in an Israeli attack near the Morag Corridor, north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
At least 55 Palestinians have been killed and over 80 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn yesterday, including 17 while waiting for aid.
Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food at two sites in Gaza.
The Government Media Office said an extreme shortage of baby formula could cause tens of thousands of malnourished infants to die slowly.
‘There are over 40,000 infants under one year old in Gaza currently at risk of slow death due to this brutal and suffocating blockade,’ the office said, accusing Israel of blocking entry of the product for 150 days.
‘We urgently demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all crossings and the swift entry of baby formula and humanitarian aid,’ they continued.
Israel’s decision to allow more aid into Gaza has been welcomed by the UN, but officials warn that severe restrictions continue to block life-saving deliveries.
‘This is a welcome step in the right direction,’ Tom Fletcher, the UN’s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs said.
‘But clearly, we need to get in vast amounts of aid at a much, much greater scale than we’ve been able to do so far. Fletcher described the overall delivery as ‘a drop in the ocean’.
‘We can’t just simply turn up and drive through. That’s what we should be allowed to do, that’s what international law demands, but we’re not yet at that point.
‘There’s massive starvation in Gaza,’ Fletcher continued. ‘We’re mobilised to deliver as much as we can, but we’ll judge this by results.’
