DayofPal– Gaza needs ‘sustained food supply’ to reverse famine crisis as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, especially for children who are facing both the constant threat of bombing and extreme starvation, Save the Children organization says.
According to Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International, the suffering is likely underreported due to the challenges of accessing and reporting from the ground. Children are not only fearful of being killed in bombings but also of being trapped and lost under rubble if they survive an attack.
“Definitely it’s much worse for children who are terrified that they might be killed at any moment,” Ahmad Alhendawi told Al Jazeera from Amman in Jordan.
Alhendawi emphasized the urgent need for Israel to remove all barriers to aid delivery, as the ongoing blockade has led to severe malnutrition that has developed over months.
“The children we reach out to through our teams on the ground are telling us they are not only terrified of dying, they are terrified that even if they survive [an attack] they might not be found under the rubble. This is a catastrophic, apocalyptic reality for children in Gaza.”
While some effects of starvation can still be reversed with immediate and sustained aid, he warns that irreversible damage has already been done to many children.
“It’s possible to reverse some [of the damage done to children by hunger] but I’m afraid that some of this damage would be irreversible at this stage.”
Alhendawi said all impediments to aid reaching people in Gaza must be removed by Israel to begin to reverse a starvation crisis that is months in the making.
“This is about almost four months of this blockade, of starvation that has built over weeks and months and to come back from that point of extreme malnutrition and starvation requires a sustained supply of food and medical equipment and also food supplements for children in need,” he concluded.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported today that Gaza hospitals recorded five new deaths over the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition, all of whom were adults. This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 180, including 93 children, as of Monday, August 4, 2025.
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