As a result of Israel’s siege and bombardment, children in Gaza are now dying from hunger, according to UN officials and aid organizations.
Officials told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that famine and widespread hunger in the besieged region were “engineered” and “man-made” catastrophes in an astute address.
By the end of September, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief, Joyce Msuya, reported to the council that famine has been confirmed in the north-central Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City. It is anticipated to have already spread to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.
According to Msuya, “more than half a million people are currently facing starvation, destitution, and death.” That number could reach 640, 000 by the end of September. No one in Gaza has been spared from hunger in the least.
At least 132, 000 children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition, with more than 43, 000 of them anticipated to have life-threatening conditions in the upcoming months, according to her.
According to Msuya, “this famine is not the result of drought or some other natural disaster.” It is a “created catastrophe” that has resulted from a conflict that has resulted in numerous civilian casualties, injuries, destruction, and forced displacement.
The health ministry in Gaza announced earlier on Wednesday that there had been two children’s deaths “due to famine and malnutrition” in the past 24 hours.
In Gaza, there have been 313 hunger-related deaths throughout the war, including 119 children.
An “engineered famine”
Israel, a famine monitoring system supported by non-profits and UN agencies, requested on Wednesday that Israel retract its conclusions regarding Gaza.
Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Eden Bar Tal, described last week’s report as “deeply flawed, unprofessional, and gravely departing from the standards expected from an international body given given such a serious responsibility.”
However, the UN Security Council’s entire membership, with the exception of the US, backed the IPC and its work in a joint statement released on Wednesday.
Inger Ashing, the council’s chief executive, also criticized the world for complicity through inaction in her own agonizing address.
“This is the Gaza famine,” the statement read. a famine that was engineered. She claimed that it was a man-made famine. “Gaza children are routinely starved to death.” In its purest form, this is starvation as a war strategy.
Ashing referred to clinics that are “packed with malnourished children” who have since ceased speaking. Children lack the capacity to speak up or even cry in agony. They lay there suffocating, literally “wasting away” them.
She described how children’s drawings in Save the Children’s support centers in Gaza have changed from depicting happy endings to simple feces and death.
Children would increasingly tell us they wanted food or bread once the total siege started in March. More and more children have said they wish to be dead in recent weeks, she said.
I wish my mother was there, the child said. There is food, water, and love in heaven.
Attacks continue.
Hospitals in Gaza reported new casualties from Israeli strikes as famine warnings grew at the UN.
A drone strike on tents in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis overnight claimed the lives of three people, including a woman and a child, and injured 21 others. At least six more people were killed in city-related strikes, according to Nasser Hospital.
At least 12 people were killed by Israeli strikes near the controversial Israeli-backed GHF, according to medical personnel on Wednesday. In the north of Gaza, four of the victims perished while awaiting the lackadaisical food packages.
Ultimately, according to health sources, Israeli forces have killed 51 Palestinians since dawn on Wednesday.
In its war against Gaza, Israel has so far killed at least 62 Palestinians and 895 of them. In Israel, on October 7, 2023, 139 people were killed, and more than 200 were taken prisoner.
Israeli forces continue to close in on Gaza City by launching overwhelming offensives against the city, leveling entire residential blocks with tanks and warplanes.
On Tuesday, Israel distributed leaflets containing forced evacuation orders for residents of the south-enclave on as-Saftawi and al-Jalaa Street.
Source: Aljazeera
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