DaysofPal – Hundreds of thousands of children in the Gaza Strip are facing an escalating risk of malnutrition as living conditions continue to deteriorate and essential food and medical supplies remain scarce, Gaza’s health authorities have warned.
Dr. Munir al-Barsh, Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that all children under the age of five, an estimated 320,000 children, are now vulnerable to malnutrition amid worsening humanitarian conditions and the near-total absence of adequate nutritional and medical support.
He stressed that the situation poses a direct threat to children’s health and survival, as families struggle to secure basic food while hospitals lack the capacity to provide necessary treatment.
Beyond the growing nutrition crisis, Dr. al-Barsh revealed alarming figures related to patients seeking treatment outside the besieged enclave. According to official records, 19,989 patients are currently registered on waiting lists for medical travel, with the World Health Organization approving 18,500 cases, including approximately 3,700 critically ill patients who require immediate transfer for life-saving care.
Among those awaiting travel are around 4,300 children, many of whom have been forced to wait for months due to the continued closure of border crossings since May 2024 and increasingly complex security procedures, despite the urgent and life-threatening nature of their conditions.
Dr. al-Barsh confirmed that more than 1,156 patients have died while waiting for permission to travel for treatment, describing these deaths as a direct consequence of a “prolonged and complicated” approval mechanism that begins with local medical reports, passes through WHO review, and ultimately depends on Israeli security clearances.
He warned that Gaza is facing its “worst health catastrophe,” calling for the immediate opening of crossings and the urgent evacuation of 3,788 patients classified by the United Nations as extremely critical. Any further delay, he said, will inevitably lead to more preventable deaths.
Inside Gaza’s hospitals, the situation has become “tragic and horrifying,” according to al-Barsh, as the ongoing blockade continues to undermine the health system’s ability to function. He said the restrictions disregard humanitarian agreements and have directly crippled emergency response capabilities.
Hospitals are grappling with severe electricity shortages, a lack of generators, and widespread shortages of medicines and medical supplies, particularly surgical consumables essential for operations and life-saving procedures.
Al-Barsh described the current crisis as the most dangerous since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, noting that 72 percent of medical consumables are unavailable. The health system is also experiencing critical shortages of intravenous fluids, anesthesia drugs, gauze, and dialysis supplies, threatening the continuity of essential services.
The crisis extends beyond the wounded. Nearly 4,000 patients suffering from glaucoma are at risk of permanent blindness, while around 40,000 displaced pregnant women are living in shelters that lack even the most basic healthcare services.
Health officials warn that without immediate international intervention, particularly to ensure food access for children and medical evacuation for critically ill patients, the humanitarian and health disaster in Gaza will continue to deepen, with irreversible consequences for the most vulnerable.
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