At least 10 Palestinian children have died from malnutrition and dehydration at hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip worsens.
In a statement, on Thursday, February 29, Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, said that the latest deaths were of four children at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Quds News Agency reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, February 28, the ministry said four children died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and two others at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
“We ask international agencies to intervene immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in northern Gaza,” Al-Qudra said.
“The international community is facing a moral and humanitarian test to stop the genocide in Gaza.”
Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Ahmad al-Kahlout emphasized the need for urgent relief to prevent more children from dying.
Taking to Instagram, journalist Ebrahem Musalam shows an infant in the pediatric department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, and power outflow fluctuates.
He said that the malnutrition and infant formula shortage among department children, with devices unable to function due to power outages caused by fuel shortages.
On February 19, UNICEF emphasized the serious threat of malnutrition among children, and pregnant and lactating women in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing war.
One in 10 children in Gaza under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, according to preliminary data from the United Nations through arm measurements that show levels of wasting in children.
The charity ActionAid said some Gazans were eating grass. “Every single person in Gaza is now hungry, and people have just 1.5 to 2 litres of unsafe water per day to meet all their needs,” it said.
Israel initiated a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas surprise attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people.
At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 70,400 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a severe blockade on the Gaza Strip, putting its population, particularly those in northern Gaza, at risk of starvation.
