Over 100 children in Gaza have died because they didn’t have enough food. Aid workers are urging that sick people be taken out for treatment faster and that more food be brought in.
These young deaths are “the latest in the war on children and childhood in Gaza,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, said in a tweet on Wednesday.
About 40,000 boys and girls have been killed or injured by bombing and airstrikes. At least 17,000 children are alone, without their parents, and one million are badly traumatised and unable to go to school.”Children are just children,” he said. “No one should stay quiet when children are dying or losing their future, no matter where they are — including in Gaza.
In Gaza, many sick children need urgent help, says the UN.
When Olga Cherevko visited a hospital in Gaza City this week, she saw a girl she knew—seven-year-old Janah. Olga remembered meeting her a year ago in another hospital, where Janah was treated for severe malnutrition. She had gotten better and gone home. Now, sadly, she is sick again.
More help is needed in Gaza, especially for children and adults who already have health problems. Without enough food, their conditions are getting worse.
A UN official said, “If they had proper food before, they wouldn’t be getting this sick now. We need enough supplies like food, medicine, nutrition, and shelter to reach people.”
The appeal comes after Gaza health officials reported that eight people, including three children, died from hunger in the last 24 hours. The UN says such deaths are now reported daily.
The WHO trained staff at Rantissi Children’s Hospital on how to treat malnutrition. This hospital is one of five centres in Gaza helping children who are starving. Since January, over 340 children have been treated, and at least 49 children have died—39 of them under five years old. The UN says the actual number of deaths could be higher.
-Peace News Desk