Six children have died of dehydration and malnutrition in a hospital in northern Gaza, the besieged Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health has announced, as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave worsens.
The ministry announced on Wednesday that two children had died at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Earlier, it was reported that four children had died at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and seven others remained in critical condition.
As Israel's attacks on Gaza continue, Health Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement: “We call on international organizations to intervene immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in northern Gaza.”
“The international community faces a moral and humanitarian test to stop the genocide in Gaza.”
Ahmed Al-Kalut, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the hospital had stopped functioning due to a lack of fuel to run the generators. On Tuesday, Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia was also closed for the same reason.
In a video posted on Instagram and verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad Verification Department, journalist Ebrahem Musallam shows an infant on a bed with electricity going in and out of the pediatric unit of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Musallam said children at the station were suffering from malnutrition and a lack of powdered milk, and repeated power outages due to fuel shortages had made necessary equipment inoperable.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Wednesday that the closure of Kamal Adwan Hospital would exacerbate the health and humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, which is already on the brink of famine, as Israel continues to disrupt or obstruct aid operations in the area. He said he would.
“Murder and Hunger”
Israel announced on Wednesday that a convoy of 31 trucks loaded with food had entered northern Gaza. The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military office that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, also announced that nearly 20 other trucks entered the north on Monday and Tuesday.
These are the first major aid deliveries in a month to the devastated and isolated region, where the United Nations has warned of worsening hunger.
Israel has delayed aid entry into the Gaza Strip for several weeks, as Israeli protesters call for aid not to be allowed into Gaza despite widespread hunger and disease Participating in a demonstration.
United Nations officials say months of Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 30,000 people, have pushed a quarter of the 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.
Project Hope, a humanitarian organization that runs a clinic in Deirbara in central Gaza, said 21 percent of pregnant women and 11 percent of children under five treated in the past three weeks were suffering from malnutrition. . .
“People report eating only white bread because fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods are either nearly impossible to find or too expensive,” Project Hope said. Ta.
Qatar and France reaffirm depth and breadth of strategic partnership in joint statement
🔗Click here for details: https://t.co/7sF2yFaDpl#Ministry of Foreign Affairs Qatar pic.twitter.com/cLsoIKdFdy
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) February 28, 2024
In a joint communiqué on Wednesday, Qatar and France emphasized their opposition to the Israeli military attack on Rafah in southern Gaza and stressed their “rejection of the killings and starvation suffered by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
They called for the opening of all borders to Gaza, including in the north, and called for “a joint $200 million effort to support the Palestinian people, while allowing humanitarian workers to resume operations, especially food supplies.” I promise.”
Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, also said that Israel must allow aid trucks into Gaza to deal with the dire humanitarian crisis.
“Hundreds of aid trucks are waiting in line to enter Gaza at Rafah and Kerem Shalom.” [Karem Abu Salem] We forced starving civilians to cross the border,” Egeland said in a social media post with a video showing dozens of aid trucks lined up.
“Not a day goes by that we were able to transport the 500 trucks needed. This system is broken, but Israel will be able to fix it for innocent people.”
Hundreds of aid trucks are waiting in line to enter Gaza at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom intersection for starving civilians. Not one day has he been able to transport the 500 trucks he needs.The system is broken, but Israel can fix it for innocent people pic.twitter.com/dMb9gTbchJ
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) February 28, 2024
Meanwhile, the medical aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is providing services to hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, where medical workers are living in dire conditions with nowhere to go. He said he is having a hard time providing that.
“Health care is under attack and is collapsing. The whole system is collapsing. We are working in tents trying to do what we can. We will treat the wounded. have contracted an infection. And I'm not even talking about the psychological scars. People are desperate. They don't know what to do anymore,” said Mayny Nikolai from MSF. Told.