TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / September 9, 2024
Another infant has died as a result of severe malnutrition and inadequate medical treatment in Gaza, on Saturday, bringing the total death toll due to starvation in the enclave to 37.
Almost a year into Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, more than 2.2 million Palestinians are still in urgent need of food and aid, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
“11 months of war in Gaza, and 2.2 million people are still in dire need of food and livelihood assistance,” the UN agency said on X on Monday.
The WFP added that despite its commitment to deliver aid, “evacuation orders are hindering our efforts, and needs are on the rise. A ceasefire is needed!”
On Saturday, an infant died as a result of severe malnutrition and inadequate medical treatment in Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The death of Yaqin al-Ashtal brings to 37 the total number of Palestinians who have died due to Israel’s blockade of essential food and medicine into Gaza.
Citing medical sources WAFA said the infant succumbed to both malnutrition and dehydration amidst a severe shortage of supplies.
Millions affected
According to UNRWA’s latest Situation Report, over one million people did not receive food rations in southern and central Gaza in August “due to access challenges and displacement.”
Citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Report stated that between August 1 and 31, an average of only 69 humanitarian trucks entered the Gaza Strip per day.
“This is well below the pre-crisis average of 500 trucks per working day,” the report said.
According to the Food Security Cluster, Nutrition Cluster, Health Cluster and Shelter Cluster, “persistent challenges in bringing aid into Gaza are causing significant shortages in critical humanitarian goods such as medicines, food, and nutrition supplies.”
A UN report released in July stated that “One hundred percent of the population of the Gaza Strip faced high levels of acute food insecurity.”
Over 40,000 killed
Israel has flouted a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Tel Aviv is currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, due to its ongoing devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,988 Palestinians have been killed, to date, have been killed, and 94,825, wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the enclave.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Millions displaced
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
Israel’s aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
