Hatem el-Hur, head of pediatrics at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, said hospitals in Gaza are overflowing with patients suffering from malnutrition.
In an interview with Anadolu, El-Hur said that humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip have significantly worsened and that most hospitals are out of order.
He pointed out that many Palestinians suffering from malnutrition sought refuge in the Nasser Medical Complex and mobile hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
“Malnutrition has spread greatly in the Gaza Strip. We never saw these cases before the war, and now many are suffering from it, especially acute malnutrition among children under the age of five,” El-Hur said.
He warned that Gazans cannot buy or find food due to shortages caused by Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.
As he said, deaths due to malnutrition are becoming more frequent.
“Most of the cases occurred in the northern regions, which are deprived of food, rations and water. In the southern regions, there were also deaths due to malnutrition. However, most of the cases were recorded in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, because they did not receive the necessary support,” he said.
He pointed out that currently in the southern regions they provide some complementary treatments, such as dairy products, which are provided by international organizations, although in very limited quantities.
Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the “Kemal Adwan” hospital in the city of Beit Lahiya in the north of the Gaza Strip, said on June 21 that signs of famine had appeared in Gaza City and the north of the enclave.
At the time, he also said that 250 children were brought to the hospital within two weeks due to malnutrition and dehydration.
Photo: Anadolu Agency
