In the Gaza Strip, every fifth child is malnourished, and the number of such cases is constantly rising, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned. UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini stated on Thursday that one of his colleagues told him: “The people of Gaza are neither alive nor dead; they are walking corpses.”
Over a hundred international humanitarian organizations and human rights groups have issued a call to the world’s countries to respond urgently and prevent the spread of mass starvation. Israel, which controls the entry of aid into Gaza, blames Hamas for everything. However, the UN says that humanitarian aid is trickling into Gaza “drop by drop” and that the crisis has never been worse.
According to Lazzarini, over a hundred people, mostly children, have reportedly died so far from the effects of hunger.
“Our field team encounters children every day who are exhausted, malnourished, and in life-threatening condition unless help is provided immediately,” he warned, calling on Israeli authorities to allow unhindered and lasting access to humanitarian organizations.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that another ten people died of hunger in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from hunger since the start of the war to 111.
World Health Organization (WHO): “This is starvation caused by human hands”
The WHO warned on Wednesday that a large portion of Gaza’s population is “on the brink of famine.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: “I don’t know how else to describe it but as mass starvation caused by human hands.”
Hanaa Almadhoun, a 40-year-old resident of northern Gaza, stated that markets are often empty, and basic necessities are almost impossible to find. “When food does appear, the prices are so high that an ordinary person cannot afford them,” she said via WhatsApp.
According to her, flour is extremely expensive and hard to obtain, and people are forced to sell gold and personal belongings to feed their families. The mother of three admitted that every day starts with the same question: “What will we be able to find to eat today?” She added that she had seen children digging through garbage looking for food scraps.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during a visit to Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Wednesday, said that Israel delivers aid in accordance with international law. On the other hand, a humanitarian worker from Gaza, Tahani Shehada, says the conditions have become almost unbearable. “People are trying to survive literally hour by hour. Even the most basic things like cooking or showering have become a luxury,” she said.
She added that her eight-month-old baby has never tasted fresh fruit.
After Israel cut off aid deliveries in March, the situation worsened further. Although the blockade has been partially eased, shortages of food, medicine, and fuel are increasingly severe.
In cooperation with the United States (U.S.), Israel established the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but according to data from the UN Office for Human Rights, over a thousand Palestinians have been killed in the past two months while trying to reach aid.
Of that number, at least 766 were killed near four distribution centers managed by U.S. private security contractors inside Israeli military zones. Another 288 people died near convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organizations.
Israel accuses Hamas of creating chaos at the checkpoints, claiming that their soldiers fire only warning shots and do not target civilians. Meanwhile, the GHF accuses the UN of publishing false data it receives from Hamas.
Najah, a 19-year-old widow who took shelter in one of the hospitals, said that she is afraid to go to the aid checkpoints because she fears being shot. “I just hope someone will bring us food and water. We’re hungry, we have nothing. We’re done,” she said.
Dr. Aseel, who works with a United Kingdom (UK) humanitarian organization, said that in Gaza, it is no longer a matter of the threat of famine – it is already here. “My husband tried to get to aid. He succeeded the first time. The second time, he was shot. And that was the end,” she said. “If we must die of hunger, so be it. The road to aid is the road to death.”
Children like skeletons, exhausted doctors, and journalists
Abu Alaa, a merchant from Gaza, said that he and his children go to bed hungry every night. “We are not alive – we are dead. We appeal to the entire world to save us,” he said.
Walaa Fathi, eight months pregnant with her third child, said that the residents of Gaza are going through an unimaginable humanitarian tragedy. “I’m afraid I won’t survive childbirth. These are inhumane conditions,” she said from Deir al-Balah.
After more than four months of near-total siege, special wards are being opened in the few hospitals still operating to care for the growing number of starving children, whose bodies have been reduced to skin and bones.
Doctors are so malnourished that they suffer from dizziness while making rounds, and many journalists covering the crisis don’t have the strength to even reach hospitals. On Tuesday, footage was released from Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, showing the brutal reality – with a warning that the content is extremely disturbing, Klix.ba writes.
