Two infants are among four more Palestinians to have died from starvation in the past 24 hours in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry.
The total figure has risen to 197 dead, including 96 children, as Israel continues to restrict critical aid from entering the enclave.
A source at the Nasser Medical Complex confirmed to Al Jazeera Arabic the death of one-year-old Mohammed Asfour as well as the death of a two-year-old girl in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis due to malnutrition and lack of treatment.
Amjad al-Shawa, head of the NGO Network in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that 200,000 children in the Strip suffer from severe malnutrition. He noted that the lack of baby formula and nutritional supplements is causing the death of many children, and added that pregnant women are living in extremely harsh conditions due to malnutrition.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, since July 27 Israel has allowed in just 843 aid trucks – far short of the 6,000 required to meet the daily needs of residents for just 10 days, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Hunger is ‘Latest Killer’
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Thursday said that “Hunger has become the latest killer in Gaza.”
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that before the siege and the famine, the UN and is partners supported 2 million people across the Strip through community-based aid distribution.
Calling for the UN and its partners to be allowed to “do their job,” Lazzarini said four “militarized distribution points cannot replace a coordinated humanitarian response.”
Aid Seekers Killed
In addition to the deaths due to starvation and malnutrition, more than 1,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 12,000 injured while seeking aid at or near the aid distribution sites run by the controversial US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), since its implementation at the end of May.
On Thursday, the French medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the GHF’s distribution scheme is “orchestrated killing and dehumanization,” which must be shut down.
In a 26-page report titled ‘This is Not Aid. This is Orchestrated Killing,’ MSF said testimonies from patients describing their experiences at the GHF sites “depict a level of dehumanisation and violence, both indiscriminate and targeted, which is beyond disturbing.”
MSF said its teams were “mentally prepared for responding to conflict — but not to civilians “killed and maimed” while seeking aid.
Staggering Death Toll
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 61,000, wounding more than 151,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
