20 children died of hunger in Gaza in just three weeks: “It is the beginning of a spiral of mortality”
Five children hungry in a hospital in Gaza melted, but nothing had been trying to work. The basic treatments for malnutrition that could have saved them were exhausted because of the Israeli blockade. The alternative ones were inefficient. One after the other, they died over four days, writes AP.
In a larger number than ever, the children affected by hunger overwhelms the patients' hospital, the main emergency for the malnourished children in the north of the gas.
The deaths, which took place last weekend, marked a premiere: the first ones observed by the center in children without pre -existing conditions. Symptoms worsen, children being too weak to cry or move, explained Dr. Rana Soboh, nutritionist. In recent months, most have improved, despite the limited supply, but now patients are hospitalized longer periods and do not feel better, she said.
“There are no words in the face of the disaster we face. The children die under the eyes of the world … There is no more ugly and horrible phase than this,” added Soboh, who works with the American Medglobal organization, which provides support to the hospital.
And adults die of hunger
This month, the hunger that spreads among the over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza has exceeded a critical point, accelerating the deaths, say the humanitarian workers and the medical staff. Not only children – usually the most vulnerable – fall victims of the Israeli blockade, but also adults.
In the last three weeks, at least 48 people have died of causes related to malnutrition- 28 adults and 20 children, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday. By comparison, 10 children died in the previous five months, according to the ministry.
UN reports similar numbers. The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it has documented the death of 21 children under 5 years of malnutrition causes in 2025. The UN Humanitarian Office said on Thursday that at least 13 children's deaths were reported only in July, their number increasing daily.
“People are equipped to live with caloric deficits, but only to a point.”explained Dr. John Kahler, co -founder of Medglobal and pediatrician who volunteered in Gaza during the war. “It seems that I have exceeded the border beyond which a segment of the population has reached its limits.”
“This is the beginning of a spiral of population mortality,” he said.
100,000 children and women need help
The UN world food program estimates that nearly 100,000 women and children urgently need malnutrition treatment. At the same time, workers in the medical field warn that they were left without a large number of treatments and essential drugs.
Israel, who has begun to enter limited aid in the last two months, blamed Hamas to disrupt food distribution. The UN responds that Israel, which has restricted the help from the beginning of the war, must actually allow them to enter without restrictions.
Hundreds of malnourished children brought daily to the hospital
The hospital of patients are full of parents who bring children only skin and bone – 200 to 300 cases a day, said Soboh.
On Wednesday, staff placed young children on an office to measure their circumference – the fastest way to determine malnutrition. In the heat of summer, the mothers were turning around the doctors, asking for supplements. Babies with emaciated limbs were screaming for agony. Others were completely silent.
The most serious patients are admitted to two weeks in the 10 beds section of the center, which this month has hosted up to 19 children simultaneously. As a rule, it only treats children under 5, but has started receiving children of 11-12 due to the aggravation of hunger among older children.
Hunger grind and staff. Soboh revealed that two nurses have put on their own intravenous infusions to keep fit. “We are exhausted. We are dead that have the form of the living,” she said.
Five dead children in four days
The five children died one after the other – Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, last week.
Four of them, between the ages of 4 months and 2 years, had suffered a gastric stop: their stomach did not digest anything. The hospital no longer had the nutritional supplies suitable for them.
The fifth case – Siwar, aged 4 and a half – had alarming levels of potassium, an increasing problem. She was so weak that she could barely move. Medications for potassium deficiency have been exhausted largely in Gaza, said Soboh. The center had only a low potassium concentration infusion.
The little girl did not answer. After three days spent in intensive care, he died on Saturday.
“If we do not have (reserves) of potassium, we will attend several deaths,” she said.
A 2-year-old melts on his feet in a tent
In the Shati refugee camp in the city of Gaza, Yazan Abu Ful's mother, 2 years old, Naima, undressed to show her weak body. The vertebrae, ribs and shoulder blades were prominent outside. His buttocks were crushed. His face was devoid of expression.
His father, Mahmoud, and he was very weak, said they took him to the hospital several times. Doctors just say they need to be fed. “I tell the doctors:” You see, there is no food, “he said.
The Naima, who is pregnant, prepared a meal: two eggplants they bought for $ 9, cut and boiled in water. They will fill a pot with water to make a thin juice to reach them for a few days, they said. Some of the four older brothers of Yazan seemed weak and exhausted.
Holding him in his lap, Mahmoud Abu was raised his soft arms to Yazan. The boy is lying on the floor most of the day, too weak to play with his brothers. “If we leave it, it might slip through our fingers, and we can do nothing.”
And adults die
Experts say that starvation affects the vulnerable first: children and adults with health problems.
On Thursday, the bodies of a man and an adult woman, with signs of starvation, were brought to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza, said the hospital director, Mohammed Abu Selmia. One was suffering from diabetes, and the other of a heart disease, but also had severe nutrient deficiencies, gastric stop and anemia due to malnutrition.
Many of the adults who died had a pre -existing condition, such as diabetes or heart problems, aggravated by malnutrition, said Abu Selmia. “These diseases do not kill if there is food and medicines,” he said.
Deaths occur after months of Israeli siege
Israel has completely interrupted access to food, drugs, fuel and other supplies in Gaza for 2 and a half months, starting with March, claiming that they intend to press on Hamas to release the hostages. During this time, the foods were exhausted largely at the help of help in the markets, and the experts warned that Gaza is going to a total hunger.
At the end of May, Israel slightly relaxed the blockade. Since then, it has allowed about 4,500 trucks to be distributed by the UN and other aid groups, including 2,500 tons of baby foods and special hypercalor foods, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
This means an average of 69 trucks per day, well below the 500-600 trucks per day that would be needed, according to the UN. The UN was unable to distribute much of the help, as the hungry crowds and gangs were scratching and emptied. Separately, Israel also supported the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which opened four centers for distributing boxes with food. Hundreds of Palestinians were killed trying to reach these places.
On Tuesday, David Mencer, the spokesman of the Israeli Prime Minister's office, denied the existence of a “hunger created by Israel” in Gaza and accused Hamas of creating “lack of man” by plundering the aid trucks.
The UN denies that Hamas siphons significant amounts of aid. Humanitarian workers say that Israel has to only allow the free flow of aid, saying that the robberies stop whenever the aid enters into large quantities.
