Thousands of trucks carrying food and lifesaving medical supplies remain stalled right outside Gaza, blocked by Israeli authorities from entering. Meanwhile, malnutrition cases among children in the region continue to rise in drastic numbers.
The number of children receiving treatment for malnutrition in Gaza has risen by 80% in April compared to March, and 92% of children aged 6 months to 2 years, along with their mothers, are not receiving their minimum required nutrition. When a blockade so clearly targets innocent and helpless children, what more can the world possibly say to appeal to the aggressor?
Israel’s blockade, which began on March 2, has now stretched into its second month – making it the longest ban on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip since the war began in October 2023. Before the war, approximately 500 trucks delivered food and essential supplies to Gaza every day. Now, at a time when the need for food, medical aid and emergency health services is most urgent, not a single truck is being allowed through.
The severe shortage of food and supplies has fuelled a black market, where food prices have surged by 1,400% in recent weeks, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. This means that most people either have no access to food, or when they do, they simply cannot afford it. The entire situation paints a tragically grim picture; parents are forced to watch their children starve before their very own eyes, while they themselves endure hunger and dehydration. In some cases, families of 7 or 8 people are left to share a single can of peas – an unimaginable reality.
This deliberate obstruction of aid, in violation of international humanitarian law, has created a manmade famine in plain sight. The silence of the international community in the face of such suffering is unforgiveable and demands urgent rectification.
#Malnutrition #Gaza
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