Starvation threatens 700,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza: Civil defence official

Gaza: The world is watching in silence as the Palestinians are dying of hunger amid escalating Israeli war against Gaza, a civil defence spokesperson in the besieged enclave said on Saturday.

In a statement, Spokesman Mahmoud Basal said that the Palestinian people were dying every day “under the light of a suspicious Arab and international silence.”

“The suffering of citizens in Gaza and the north is worsening daily, as thousands of them are waiting to die either due to hunger or Israeli targeting.” He said more than 700,000 people are facing starvation and death every moment if Israel continues to prevent the entry of basic food and medical supplies.

“The Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is entering its 140th day without anyone with a conscience acting to save the remaining lives in Gaza.” The United Nations has also warned of the growing risk of famine in Gaza. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it desperately needs resources as nearly all the 2.2 million inhabitants of the territory are facing crisis or worse levels of hunger. People of Gaza are “in extreme peril while the world watches on,” UNRWA said.

“Without adequate food and water supplies, as well as health and nutrition services, the elevated risk of famine in Gaza is projected to increase.”

Since October 7, 2023, many humanitarian agencies, not least UNRWA, have had to halt operations in the Gaza Strip, meaning hundreds of thousands of people will not have access to aid. One in six children under age two — 15.6 per cent — are acutely malnourished in northern Gaza, according to nutrition screenings conducted at shelters and health centers in January.

Of these, almost three per cent suffer from severe wasting — the most life-threatening form of malnutrition. That health condition puts children at the highest risk of medical complications and death unless they receive urgent treatment.

The Israeli occupation’s continued aggression against Gaza has led to the deaths of 29,514 people, mostly women and children, and injuries to 69,616 people, in addition to the displacement of more than 85 per cent (about 1.9 million people) of the Strip’s population, according to Gazan authorities and international bodies and organisations.