Amid the ongoing genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the humanitarian crisis has deepened to catastrophic levels, particularly among children, who are paying the highest price as a result of the blockade and systematic starvation.
In this context, United Nations humanitarian agencies have called for urgent action after medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that more than 100 children have died from malnutrition since the start of the war in October 2023.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described, via its official website last night, the crossing of the 100-child death toll as “a catastrophic milestone that stains the world’s conscience and demands the long-overdue urgent action.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) noted that more than 300,000 children in Gaza face extreme danger, and that over a third of the population reported going without food for consecutive days. It stressed that meeting the nutritional needs requires over 62,000 tonnes of supplies per month, while the quantities allowed in remain far below the minimum necessary to keep nearly two million people alive.
OCHA added that on Sunday, the United Nations and its partners managed to bring in some food, fuel, and supplies through the Kerem Shalom crossing; however, the shipments were unloaded before reaching their intended destinations.
It explained that the Israeli occupation authorities are allowing in around 150,000 litres of fuel per day, far less than what is needed to sustain life-saving operations.
It was reported that more than half of Gaza’s ambulances have stopped operating due to a lack of fuel and spare parts, while the Food and Agriculture Organization warned that only 1.5 per cent of the Strip’s agricultural land remains usable, a sign of the near-total collapse of the local food system.
Under these conditions, the plight of Gaza’s children continues to worsen, as they face the risk of dying from hunger amid a troubling international silence, making immediate action imperative to save their lives and those of all civilians in the Strip.
