Eleven deaths from starvation in last 24 hours
Eleven people, including a child, have starved to death in Gaza in the past 24 hours. The latest figures bring the total number of hunger-related deaths in the territory to 251, Director-General of Gaza’s Health Ministry Munir al-Bursh told Al Jazeera.
He said that 40,000 infants in the territory were suffering from severe malnutrition amid critical food shortages caused by Israel’s war and restrictions on aid into Gaza.
Palestinians receive clean water from al-Shafi Mosque in Khan Younis and carry it back to their tents as the Israeli bombardment has destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure, leaving residents without access to potable water
‘Little food that is coming in is absolutely not sufficient’: MSF
Like journalists and other civilians in Gaza, medical workers are suffering from hunger and are affected by a constant search for food, according to Caroline Willemen, project coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF.
She told Al Jazeera from besieged Gaza City that food remains expensive and difficult to obtain, even though Israel has been allowing slightly more aid into the enclave over the past several days.
“Many of my colleagues struggle to properly feed their families. They’re also going home to sleep in a tent without any running water, which has been especially difficult in the past few days that have been the hottest days since 1942.”
Willemen said the malnutrition programme run by the MSF in its primary healthcare clinic in Gaza City now has 1,060 patients, 10 percent of whom are children under five suffering from severe and acute malnutrition.
“This goes to show that the little food that is coming in is absolutely not sufficient and is not reaching everyone.”
Gaza’s children, elderly face severe malnutrition
Fourteen-month-old Hazar Arfa, receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, is in critical condition due to severe malnutrition
Seble’s weight has dropped from 70kg to 40kg (154lb to 88lb) as a result of inadequate access to food, and he has nearly lost his ability to walk
Starved Gaza woman dies after humanitarian flight to Italy hospital
A young Palestinian woman who was flown from Gaza to an Italian hospital in a severely emaciated state for treatment has died, according to the University Hospital of Pisa.
The 20-year-old, identified by Italian media reports as Marah Abu Zuhri, arrived in Pisa on an Italian government humanitarian flight overnight into Thursday. The hospital said she had a “very complex clinical picture” and suffered from serious wasting, which is when a person has significant weight and muscle loss.
On Friday, after undergoing tests and starting treatment, she died after a sudden respiratory crisis and cardiac arrest.
The woman was flown to Italy with her mother on one of three Italian air force flights that arrived this week in Rome, Milan and Pisa, carrying a total of 31 patients and their companions. All suffered from serious congenital diseases, wounds or amputations, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
