GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The death toll as a result of Israel’s starvation policy in the Gaza Strip has risen to 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza on Tuesday.
In the last 24 hours alone, eight new deaths of starvation and malnutrition were recorded, one child and seven adults, marking a grim escalation in the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
Since the start of the Israeli genocide war on October 7, 2023, Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to a deadly blockade that has resulted in what international organizations now describe as “catastrophic” levels of hunger and deprivation.
On March 2, 2024, the situation worsened as the Israeli occupation closed all crossings before humanitarian, medical, and relief aid, deliberately accelerating the spread of famine.
Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, Director General of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, issued a powerful humanitarian appeal on Tuesday.
“The children and elderly of Gaza have wasted away to the point that their skeletons are visible,” he said. “We are recording daily deaths from starvation and malnutrition. The reality is beyond description, and there is an urgent need for immediate intervention before it is too late,” he added.
His plea comes amid growing calls for international action, as hospitals, makeshift shelters, and even family homes report running out of basic food items. The situation, according to Abu Salmiya, is nothing short of genocidal: “This is a war of extermination in all forms—bombing, displacement, and starvation.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that 28 children die every day in Gaza due to a combination of Israeli bombing and starvation. The agency emphasized that Gaza’s children urgently need food, water, medicine, protection, and above all, a ceasefire now.
Meanwhile, Farhan Haq, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said that less than half of the needed aid is entering Gaza, and the primary obstacle remains the Israeli occupation’s full control over all border crossings and its deliberately complex and prolonged inspection process.
Adding to the crisis, over 1,500 Palestinians have been martyred since May while trying to obtain food at Israeli-militarized aid distribution points and along UN relief routes.
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 10,000 others have been injured. The so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation,” an Israeli- and US-backed body rejected by the UN, has taken control of aid delivery since May 27, excluding credible international organizations and intensifying suffering.
Estimates by the World Food Program indicate that 25% of Gaza’s population faces famine-like conditions, including 100,000 children and women suffering from severe malnutrition.
The total casualties of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza now exceeds 210,000 martyrs or wounded, the majority of them children and women, with over 9,000 still missing.
