Gaza: hunger crisis causes three Palestinians to die in a day

Palestinian medical sources have confirmed that on August 26th, three Palestinians died due to hunger, according to AL24 News via Wafa news agency.

The Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip, which has faced a strict blockade and a destructive war imposed by the Israeli military since October 2023.

Wafa, a Palestinian news agency, has announced that these deaths have raised the total number of deaths caused by malnutrition. The number has now reached 303 in the enclave. Deaths of children make up 117 of the total figure.

Since March 2nd, the humanitarian crisis has worsened. This is largely due to Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid. Several activists, including Greta Thunberg, have tried to mitigate the damage by travelling to Gaza on a flotilla with aid such as baby formula and medical supplies. However, they were allegedly kidnapped by the military on June 8th and sent back, unable to deliver the aid they were carrying.

The involvement of the Israeli military has also led to a severe shortage of food and medical supplies. The situation has been worsened by the Israeli military closing all crossing points in the Gaza Strip. They have prohibited the majority of food aid and humanitarian aid, leading to widescale suffering in the enclave.

Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip are also suffering at the hands of Israel. There have been a string of racist attacks on Palestinians in Israel. On August 23rd, a Palestinian bus driver was attacked by Jewish youths, who vandalised his bus with an emergency hammer and shouted “death to Arabs” and “Jew – good, Arab – son of a bitch.”

On August 22nd, the United Nations formally announced that there is a famine in Gaza. This is the first famine in the Middle East, and UN experts have confirmed that up to 500,00 individuals are in a “catastrophic condition.”

AL24 News via Wafa, Maghrebi.org