The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza deepens as another child dies from severe malnutrition on Saturday, raising the total number of starvation-related deaths in the besieged enclave to 58.
Medical sources at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital (Baptist Hospital) confirmed the death of four-year-old Mohammad Mustafa Yassin, who succumbed to malnutrition, a consequence of Israel’s ongoing blockade and its policy of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza.
It is worth mentioning that the child’s father was killed in an Israeli bombing about eight months ago.
A Crisis of Starvation and Deprivation
Since the beginning of Israel’s siege, 58 Palestinians have died from starvation, while 242 others, including elderly individuals and children, have perished due to severe shortages of food and medicine, according to medical officials.
For 80 days, Israel has maintained a systematic starvation campaign against 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza. The blockade of humanitarian aid at border crossings since March 2 has pushed the territory into the grip of famine.
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Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its ground and air assaults, launching large-scale military operations in both northern and southern Gaza.
International Alarms: ‘The Worst Humanitarian Crisis’
On Friday, 80 countries issued a joint statement to the United Nations, warning that Gaza is facing “the worst humanitarian crisis” since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on the coastal enclave on October 7, 2023.
The statement cautioned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing extreme hunger and the imminent threat of starvation.
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, described the trickle of humanitarian aid entering Gaza as “a needle in a haystack”, emphasizing that the enclave remains trapped in a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
Lazzarini stressed that, at minimum, 500–600 aid trucks per day, managed by the UN, including UNRWA, are urgently needed to sustain Gaza’s starving population.
Israel’s Manipulation of Aid Distribution
Israeli authorities have redirected the distribution of humanitarian aid in an apparent effort to depopulate northern Gaza.
By making Rafah the primary aid distribution point, Israel forces displaced Palestinians to migrate south to seek food and medical supplies.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the UN will not participate in any aid distribution scheme that fails to comply with international law and humanitarian principles.
Lazzarini echoed this stance, stating that Israel’s proposed supply scheme is doomed to fail.
“No humanitarian organization that truly respects core humanitarian principles could comply with such a plan,” he wrote in a statement shared by UNRWA on its official Facebook page on Saturday.
“This model was seemingly designed to serve a military objective rather than addressing genuine humanitarian needs,” Lazzarini added.
Two Million Gazans Face Extreme Starvation
The World Food Programme estimates that two million people are at risk of severe starvation and famine unless immediate action is taken.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has continued its genocidal assault on Gaza, carrying out mass killings, destruction, starvation tactics, and forced displacement, ignoring international pleas and violating International Court of Justice orders.
On Friday, 80 countries issued a joint statement to the United Nations, warning that Gaza is facing “the worst humanitarian crisis” since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7, 2023.
They cautioned that civilians, especially children and infants, are now at risk of starvation.
So far, the ongoing genocide has left over 53,655, including at least 16,505 children, 9,799 women, 245 journalists, and 1.411 medical staff, in addition to more than 121,950 wounded, mostly children and women, since October 7, 2023. More than 11,000 people remain missing, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced, struggling to find food, water, and shelter.
