GAZA: The besieged Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine, with over 3,500 Palestinian children at risk of hunger amid Israel’s tightened siege and the closure of aid crossings, Gaza officials reported on Tuesday.
Local authorities have raised alarms, accusing Israel and the United States of conspiring to prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. The Gaza-based Government Media Office issued a statement saying the enclave is “rapidly” moving towards famine due to these restrictions.
“3,500 children are threatened by death due to malnutrition and lack of nutritional supplements and vaccines which became part of the prohibited items to enter Gaza,” the statement detailed, highlighting the severe impact of Israeli measures.
The media office emphasized that the “crime of banning entry of food and medicine” has exacerbated the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. It called for urgent and immediate international intervention to halt Israel’s policy of starvation and to open crossings to allow the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-torn region.
Despite a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel continues its offensive on Gaza, facing international condemnation. Since October 7 last year, over 37,350 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and more than 85,400 injured in ongoing Israeli bombardments in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
Over eight months of war have left vast areas of Gaza in ruins under a crippling blockade that has severely limited access to food, clean water, and medicine.
The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of genocide and recently ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operations in Rafah. The southern Gaza city had become a refuge for over a million Palestinians before it was invaded on May 6.
