Medical sources at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Jabalia camp explained that, in just one week, fifty minor children suffering from malnutrition were counted.
They explained, quoting the Jerusalem News Portal, that we are trying to resume medical care, but the service is at a minimum due to the lack of fuel and the catastrophic situation in the Strip.
Last week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that 90% of Gazan children suffer from severe food poverty and live on two or fewer food groups per day.
In a report on the sector around the world, UNICEF warned that “months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have led to the collapse of food and health systems, with catastrophic consequences for children and their families.”
He stressed that the numbers show the terrible impact of the conflict in this coastal sector and the Israeli restrictions on the ability of families to meet the nutritional needs of minors.
One day ago, the non-governmental organization Action Against Hunger highlighted that more than half a million children and mothers need food assistance in that region, while half of the population there suffers from food shortages.
He added that before the current conflict, which began last October, less than one percent of Gaza’s children under the age of five suffered from acute malnutrition, but the blockade and war have caused catastrophic food insecurity.
The group’s health and nutrition coordinator, whose name was not published for security reasons, said that during our recent visit to the area, we saw many children suffering from malnutrition, who needed urgent care.
He stressed, “We see how the lack of food affects their growth: their growth rate is not sufficient, and vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, and lungs weaken.”
He also warned that many of them have not received any vaccine in the past seven months.
Last month, Adele Khader, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, confirmed that humanitarian operations, on which the survival of all Gazans depends, are threatened by the escalation of attacks launched by the Israeli armed forces.
Civilians, already exhausted, malnourished and victims of countless traumas, were now more at risk of being killed, injured or displaced within their devastated communities, the official criticized at the time. jf/rob
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