Israeli closure of Zikim crossing part of ‘systematic starvation’ policy
Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Government Media Office in Gaza, has slammed Israel for “perpetuating its policy of starvation” by closing the Zikim crossing and preventing the entry of aid and trucks for 10 consecutive days into the north of the enclave.
The Zikim crossing was closed on September 12, and no aid groups have been able to import supplies since, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Al-Thawabta called it part of a “systematic starvation engineering policy”, adding that Israel has also reduced aid passing through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, and al-Karara, known to Israelis as Kissufim, which Israel also closed for several days.
He cited UNRWA statistics that reiterate how “Gaza needs more than 600 aid trucks daily to meet the minimum needs of more than 2.4 million people”.
Al-Thawabta said Israel and its allies are “fully responsible for this worsening humanitarian catastrophe” and urged the UN and international community to take “serious and immediate action” to open the crossings and secure aid deliveries.
Child dies of malnutrition in southern Gaza: Nasser Hospital
A child has died due to malnutrition and lack of treatment, according to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.
According to the records of the enclave’s Health Ministry, famine and malnutrition prompted by Israeli blockade have starved more than 440 people, including 147 children.
Nasser Medical Complex says children ‘piled up in corridors’ amid shortages
The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has warned of a “real disaster” as overcrowding and shortages are having a major impact on children.
“A painful scene in Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where dozens of children are piled up in corridors and between rooms due to insufficient beds, and their families are forced to sit on the floor amid acute shortage of medicines and care,” the hospital said in a statement posted on Facebook.
It added that the displacement from the north of Gaza has overwhelmed its capacity while “the nursery department is in for a real disaster, when three children are placed in one incubator”.
