![Gazan premature baby Leila faces the looming threat of death as a result of malnutrition and restricted access to water as she is currently receiving treatment at the newborn intensive care unit of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, on March 29, 2024 [Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA-20240329-34125899-34125898-GAZA_PREMATURE_BABY_LEILA_FACES_GREATER_RISK_OF_DEATH_IN_HOSPITAL.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The UK-based organisation, Save the Children, warned on Tuesday against child malnutrition in Gaza amid the conflict, Anadolu Agency reports.
The organisation recalled that 346,000 children under the age of 5 are at risk in Gaza.
“In the north, it is estimated that one in three children under the age of two are now suffering from wasting, the most severe form of malnutrition, compared to one in six children in January, according to The Global Nutrition Cluster – a group of humanitarian organisations focused on nutrition,” it explained.
The British Charity narrated the stories of Gazans, including children with special health conditions such as anaemia or those starving to death, and added that “they also need essential medicines such as antibiotics, health facilities and trained health care workers who can detect and treat malnutrition.”
“Life-saving supplies which could be used to treat malnourished children are being delayed and denied entry by the Government of Israel. Essential food and medical items are obstructed from entering Gaza for days, weeks, or even months,” the organisation also said.
It further added that attacks on aid workers undermine deliveries, “further restricting an already hamstrung humanitarian response”.
Israel has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians since a 7 October cross-border attack by Palestinian group, Hamas, which claimed 1,200 lives.
However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.
It has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
Last week, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to ensure “unhindered provision” of urgent aid to Gaza. The UN Court said “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … but that famine is setting in.”
READ: Japan FM announces to deliver $35m aid to Gaza as UNRWA funding resumes
Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.
