Seven children die of malnutrition, Israeli siege at Gaza hospital
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The director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza says that in recent days, four children died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration.
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Displaced Palestinians gather for food in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinian medical sources reported the death of seven Palestinian children at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza due to malnutrition after the hospital went out of service due to the absence of fuel amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the besieged Strip.
Earlier, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Ahmad al-Kahlout, stressed that this situation will deprive thousands of Palestinians of their right to medical care, adding that many patients have died as a result of malnutrition, as well as the lack of medication and fuel.
Al-Kahlout highlighted that in recent days, four children died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration.
Hamas warned that the announcement of Kamal Adwan Hospital being taken out of service worsens the humanitarian conditions for Palestinians in northern Gaza and puts further strain on its fragile healthcare system.
The Palestinian Resistance movement urged all relevant parties and UN agencies to take immediate action and facilitate the delivery of emergency food supplies to besieged northern Gaza.
It further emphasized that the Israeli occupation has been deliberately starving Palestinians north of the Strip, labeling "Israel" as a criminal enemy who does not respect any humanitarian standards or moral controls in its comprehensive war against Palestinians.
Hamas stressed that the International community and the UN should fulfill their responsibilities of taking necessary measures to end the Israeli genocide against Gaza.
Two children died of dehydration and malnutrition: Health Ministry
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip confirmed Wednesday that two children have died "of dehydration and malnutrition" at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
"The death toll from the famine among children rose to six martyrs as a result of dehydration and malnutrition," spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
"We call on international institutions to take immediate action to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe in the northern Gaza Strip."
UN agencies have said the latest humanitarian convoy was allowed into the north more than a month ago.
The United Nations humanitarian coordination office on Wednesday said two children had died earlier of dehydration and malnutrition in northern Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital -- deaths previously announced by al-Qudra.
Nearly five months into the war, the Israeli aggression has killed at least 29,954 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
With aid still blocked from entering northern Gaza by Israeli occupation forces, and only entering the rest of the Strip in bits and pieces, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that "if nothing changes, a famine is imminent".
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNWRA has also reported a 50% drop in trucks entering Gaza so far this month compared to January.
The UN humanitarian office OCHA also cited projections indicating that "the entire population of the Gaza Strip faces crisis or worse levels of food insecurity."
More than 500,000 people out of Gaza's 2.4 million inhabitants are "facing catastrophic conditions characterised by lack of food, starvation and exhaustion of coping capacities," it warned.
Read more: A quarter of Gaza one step away from famine: UNOCHA
