Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded 16 more malnutrition deaths due to the US-backed Israeli siege over the past three days, according to press releases from the Gaza Health Ministry.
In its latest release, the Health Ministry said six Palestinians had starved to death over the past 24 hours and said all of the dead were adults. “This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
Among the Palestinians who starved to death over the weekend was Atef Abu Khater, a 17-year-old who died at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Saturday. According to Al Jazeera, he had no previous medical conditions before he was hospitalized for malnutrition.
About a week before Abu Khater’s death, A’eed Abu Khater, the boy’s father, told The New York Times that he was not responding to treatment. “I feel helpless,” A’eed said. “We lost our income in the war. Food is unaffordable. There is nothing.”
Israeli officials and their defenders in the West have downplayed the Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza, saying it’s limited to people with pre-existing medical conditions. But malnutrition for people with these conditions can easily be avoided with proper nutrition, and they haven’t had access to adequate food due to the Israeli blockade.
Doctors and hospitals in Gaza have also reported treating children with malnutrition who didn’t have pre-existing conditions, such as Abu Khater. Malnutrition has also led to more deaths among injured Palestinians who needed surgery but couldn’t recover, according to Nick Maynard, a British surgeon who was recently volunteering in Gaza.
Amid the international outrage over its starvation campaign, Israel has taken steps to allow slightly more aid into Gaza, but people on the ground say it’s not nearly enough, and aid groups are calling for all restrictions to be lifted and a ceasefire to allow for a full humanitarian relief effort. Israeli forces have also continued to massacre hungry Palestinians attempting to reach aid.
