Signs of malnutrition evident on north Gaza children: Civil Defense

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
15 Nov 2024 21:43

The spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, tells Al Mayadeen that the Israeli occupation forces continue to expand the Netzarim axis, seizing Gaza City's lands.

Listen

A boy reacts as he sits near the bodies of victims of an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on November 15, 2024. (AFP)

"Israel" is imposing a policy of starvation on Gaza City by preventing the entry of vegetables, fruits, and cooking gas, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, told Al Mayadeen on Friday.

Basal highlighted that "children are now exhibiting signs of dehydration due to the lack of food and nutrition."

In parallel, Israeli occupation forces continue to expand the Netzarim axis, seizing Gaza City's lands, the spokesperson pointed out.

"Thousands of lives could have been saved if we had the necessary rescue and relief equipment," Basal stressed, emphasizing that the situation is "growing increasingly dire in the Strip, which has been subjected to over 400 days of genocide, leaving no habitable homes."

His statements came as Gaza's Civil Defense reiterated that its operations remain forcibly paralyzed across all northern areas of the Strip for the 24th consecutive day due to the ongoing Israeli aggression, leaving thousands without humanitarian aid, medical care, or relief.

The Civil Defense reminded that the Israeli occupation forces attacked its teams in the north on October 23, seizing its vehicles, displacing most of its personnel to central and northern Gaza, and abducting 10 members.

It also called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to respond to the pleas of thousands besieged by the Israeli occupation military in northern Gaza and to urgently work toward the resumption of Civil Defense operations and the reactivation of its vehicles in Beit Lahia.

Earlier on Friday, the Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza has risen to 43,764 martyrs, in addition to 103,490 injured.

The Ministry noted that many victims remain trapped under the rubble or in the streets, as rescue and Civil Defense teams are unable to reach them due to the accumulation of debris and continued Israeli attacks.

North Gaza hospitals decimated, only one surgeon left: UNRWA official

All hospitals in besieged areas in northern Gaza have been completely destroyed, with only one surgeon left, forcing people to "fend and survive by themselves," UNRWA senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge alarmed through The New Yorker magazine.

According to the report, three hospitals in north Gaza have been directly hit by strikes and decimated, doctors have been detained, and "bodies are just lying on the ground."

Wateridge also reiterated that "Israel" continues to reject all UN appeals to allow aid into the north, stressing that besieged areas have been left without any food for an entire month.