DaysofPal- The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has warned of the rapidly escalating catastrophic effects of the Israeli-made famine facing the population of Gaza under the tight Israeli blockade, emphasizing that health and nutritional conditions have reached unprecedented levels of danger.
In a press statement on Tuesday, the ministry reported that August saw 185 deaths due to malnutrition, the highest number in several months, including 70 deaths after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared Gaza a famine zone, among them 12 children.
Additionally, 43,000 children under the age of five suffer from severe malnutrition, and over 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are severely malnourished, while 67% of pregnant women suffer from anemia, marking the most critical rate in years.
The ministry confirmed that Israel deliberately exacerbates the famine by allowing only minimal amounts of food to enter and denying the population access to infant formula, nutritional supplements, and essential medicines.
Moreover, the ministry noted that international organizations have stated that the Israeli occupation is engineering the famine in Gaza by permitting the looting of the limited aid that does enter, forcing its distribution to areas far from the population, and targeting Palestinians at aid distribution centers, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
Reports described the scenes at food distribution points as resembling “zombie-like scenarios”, with starving people desperately jostling for any morsel to sustain themselves.
The Ministry of Health concluded its warning by stating that these indicators represent a catastrophic alarm, calling for urgent international action to stop the deliberate famine and save Gaza’s residents from slow death.
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