‘It’s death there’
Children of Gaza face starvation as promised aid fails to arrive
Even if the war in Gaza ended tomorrow, for some of the Palestinian territory’s children it would not help. Hunger and malnutrition have already claimed an estimated 27 young lives, and for many more it may be too late to reverse the excruciating toll that starvation takes on small, growing bodies.
Nuzha Awad’s triplets, Malek, Khader and Moustafa, born two months before the war began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, did not stop crying as she spoke to the Guardian. Awad fled Gaza City when food and formula for her babies began to run out.
In their new home, a makeshift tent in the central town of Deir al-Balah, she is still desperately afraid for their futures. “At this age a child should weigh eight kilos. They weigh two kilos … They don’t have thighs yet. At this stage they are supposed to be crawling and preparing to walk. And now you see the state they’re in,” she said.
“Are these the arms of an eightmonth-old child? … It’s death there, death, death. Death in the literal meaning of the word.”
UN-backed experts last month assessed that famine in Gaza could set in within weeks. Last week, Samantha Power, the head of the US humanitarian and development agency USAid, became the first American official to confirm publicly that, in some areas, famine had already taken hold.
Malnutrition is spreading at record pace among children, according to the World Food Programme. More than 90% of young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are
subsisting on two or fewer food groups – mainly bread – with no access to fruit, vegetables, milk or proteins.
Almost half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is under 18, and the effects of starvation may follow those who survive for the rest of their lives. Without the nutrients needed for growth their brains and bodies cannot properly develop, leading to problems such as poor eyesight and learning disabilities.
The territory’s healthcare system has collapsed, and a lack of water and food has made it nearly impossible for medical staff to alleviate the symptoms of malnutrition in vulnerable people. with infant mortality, and will also be at severe risk of malnutrition.
“Ever since the war began, I have been coming to the food charity. There are seven of us and I can’t find food for everyone. It’s a tough situation,” she said.
A promised surge in aid Benjamin Netanyahu promised Joe Biden after Israel’s killing of a team of international aid workers this month has so far failed to materialise, charities say.
Israel has claimed that the daily passage of trucks entering Gaza has since doubled to about 400. The UN’s relief agency for Palestinians said, however, that after a peak of 246 on 9 April, the number of lorries crossing into Gaza fell the next day to 141.
Getting assistance to where it is needed most, particularly the northern half of the territory, has been made difficult by damaged roads, a lack of fuel, a breakdown of public order and what aid agencies have described as unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed by Israel.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid may amount to the war crime of deliberate starvation, the UN has said. Israel says the UN and relief groups are at fault for issues over the quantity and pace of delivery.