The United Nations warns that thousands of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip face the threat of hunger as Israel continues to blockade of food, water and other critical supplies of encircled and bombed coastal territories in the third month.
The United Nations Office for the Rights of the Children (UNICEF) said Friday that more than 9,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since the beginning of the year.
But the situation has been worsening since Israel caused a blockade on the Palestinian enclave in early March.
“For two months, children in the Gaza Strip face ruthless bombardment while being deprived of essential goods, services and life-saving care,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
“With every day of the aid lockdown, they face an increasing risk of hunger, disease and death – nothing can prove it.”
Since March 2, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid to the Palestinians who have arrived in Gaza, which has inspired international condemnation.
The UN World Food Program said last week that its food supply had been “exhausted” during the siege, warning that community kitchens would be forced to shut down thousands of Palestinians.
A displaced Palestinian parent recently told the international crisis. “I don’t want my kids to starve.”
The Israeli government said its blockade was intended to put pressure on the Palestinian group Hamas to release prisoners held in Gaza. But it hasn't caused any release since the brief ceasefire earlier this year, which saw Palestinian prisoners replace Israeli prisoners.
Meanwhile, Hamas official Abdel Rahman Shadid accused Israel of using hunger as a “deliberate weapon of war” against the Palestinians on Friday.
“The kids died not only from a bomb, but from a lack of milk, but from a bomb,” Shadid said in a statement on the organization's telegram channel.
Legal experts and human rights groups point out that as the right to occupation, Israel has an obligation to provide food and other assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under international law.
They condemned the blockade as a violation of the Geneva Convention.
According to the Integrated Food Security Stage Classification System (IPC) system of the Global Hunger Regulatory Authority, thousands of Palestinians have a high level of food insecurity in Gaza.
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network, told Al Jazeera that the situation has rapidly deteriorated due to the lack of supplies needed to treat malnutrition in medical institutions.
“We don’t have food supplies or supplemental materials or medications for these kids,” Shawa told Al Jazeera from Gaza City. “People are worried that we will see more casualties in the coming days,” he added.
At the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, Dr. Ahmed Abu Nasir said the situation has become worse than ever due to the lockdown.
“Kids are in the growth stage and are in great need of certain nutrients, including protein and fat,” the pediatrician told Al Jazeera. “These are in the Gaza Strip, especially in the north.”
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 52,400 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli war against Gaza began in October 2023.
