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  • 17 Sep, 2024

Gaza officials warn that more than 3,500 children are in danger of dying due to Israel's starvation policy.

Gaza officials warn that more than 3,500 children are in danger of dying due to Israel's starvation policy.

The Gaza media office has cautioned that Israel's policy of starvation poses a grave threat to over 3,500 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, all amidst a backdrop of "deafening international silence."

According to a statement released by the government's media office on Monday, over 3,500 children under the age of five in Gaza face the threat of death due to Israeli policies of depriving them of essential nutrition. The statement also highlighted concerns about severe shortages of milk, food, nutritional supplements, and denied access to vaccinations.

Since Israel's military incursion in Rafah began in early May, access to healthcare has further deteriorated. The regime's forces have blocked outgoing wounded individuals seeking treatment and hindered the distribution of already scarce humanitarian aid.

The media office lamented that this dire situation is unfolding amidst a backdrop of silence from the international community. According to UNICEF's director of private fundraising and partnerships, many of these children are now suffering from malnutrition or disability.

UNICEF has warned that the ongoing crisis in Rafah poses a significant threat to children, particularly in terms of malnutrition treatment. Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication for UNICEF in Palestine, emphasized that the interruption of nutrition supplies, including ready-to-use therapeutic food, could jeopardize the treatment of over 3,000 children with acute malnutrition.

In the Gaza Strip, approximately 1.7 million people have been internally displaced, with half of them being children who lack sufficient access to water, food, fuel, and medicine.

Tragically, on Saturday, a Palestinian child died of starvation in central Gaza, as reported by the Palestinian official news agency Wafa.