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Malnutrition, formula shortage leaves new mothers with few options
Dr Kahlil Daqran has outlined the desperate situation for young mothers in Gaza: There is no access to infant formula, yet they are often too malnourished to breastfeed.
“In the Gaza Strip, we have thousands of children being starved because there is no milk for children under the age of two,” he said.
“These children, their mothers also have malnutrition because there is no food, so the mothers cannot produce milk. Now, our children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza.”
Azhar Imad, 31, has said she has mixed tahini with water in hopes of feeding four-month-old Joury, but fears this will make her baby sick.
“I am using this paste instead of milk, but she won’t drink it. All these can cause illnesses,” she said. “Sometimes, I give her water in the bottle; there’s nothing available. I make her caraway and herbs, any kind of herbs.”
Israel allows Arab countries to airdrop limited aid over Gaza
Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates coordinated with Israel to drop 43 aid packages over Gaza, according to a statement by the Israeli military.
It said the packages containing food were dropped from planes to residents of southern and northern Gaza, again refuting “claims of deliberate starvation” in Gaza.
At least three Palestinians starved to death in Gaza today, according to medical sources in Gaza and the enclave’s authorities.
The UN and other international aid organisations have slammed the air drops as an ineffective and potentially dangerous move that fails to address the root cause of the mass starvation in the enclave, which is Israel’s blocking of basic necessities as a systematic policy.
Aid packages descend over Gaza, as seen from the central Gaza Strip
43 aid packages for 2 million people, 3 planes. 600 trucks a day are needed.
UN says ‘ad hoc’ checkpoint, single route causing aid delays
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, has said that despite Israeli claims of secure convoy routes in Gaza, humanitarian workers are continuing to face delays that “expose drivers, aid workers, and crowds to danger”.
“The long waits are because a single route has been made available for our teams exiting Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route,” Haq said.
He added that despite roadblocks, UN agencies are seizing every opportunity to “collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies from outside”.
Gaza media office reports widespread aid truck looting
The office reports that 104 aid trucks entered Gaza today, saying the “majority” were subjected to looting.
It further accused Israel of “deliberately perpetuating” security chaos, adding it affirmed the UN’s position that 600 trucks are needed a day to adequately provide for the population.
Earlier today, we reported that a UN spokesperson said that aid trucks had been restricted to only one crossing into Gaza and were subject to “ad hoc” security checks by the Israeli military. He said this has led to delays and increased dangers for both those making the deliveries and those seeking aid.
Journalists in Gaza have reported that Israeli operations have led to a breakdown in central governance, which has empowered criminal gangs.
