Gaza hospital says 21 children dead from starvation as aid crisis worsens

GAZA CITY: The head of Gaza’s largest hospital said on Tuesday (Jul 22) that 21 children have died from malnutrition and starvation over the past three days, amid worsening humanitarian conditions and continued Israeli military operations.

“Twenty-one children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in various areas across the Gaza Strip,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

He warned that new cases were arriving “every moment” at the few remaining hospitals still able to function, and that the territory could soon see “alarming numbers” of starvation deaths if conditions did not improve.

Gaza, home to more than 2 million people, has experienced extreme shortages of food, water and medical supplies, with many residents killed while trying to collect aid at limited distribution points.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described Gaza as a “horror show” in a speech on Tuesday, citing “a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times”.

BABY AMONG 15 DEAD IN 24 HOURS

Doctors in Gaza said 15 people died of hunger in the past 24 hours alone, including six-week-old Yousef, whose body was photographed limp on a hospital table in Gaza City, with skin stretched over his bones. “You can't get milk anywhere,” said Yousef’s uncle, adding that formula, if available, costs US$100 per tub.

Three other children, including a 13-year-old in Khan Younis, also died of starvation, according to medics. At least 101 people have died of hunger during the conflict, including 80 children, most in recent weeks.

ISRAEL DENIES BLOCKING AID

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said in a social media post on Tuesday evening that “950 trucks worth of aid” were currently waiting in Gaza “for international organisations to pick up and distribute”. He said Israel had facilitated their entry.

Israel says it views the transfer of aid as vital and blames Hamas for stealing shipments. Hamas denies this.

Asked for comment, a White House official echoed Israel’s position, accusing Hamas of placing bounties on aid workers and spreading disinformation. “It’s horrific that Hamas continues to target this crucial aid,” the official said, adding that the US supports the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

After the collapse of a six-week ceasefire in early March, Israel reimposed a full blockade on Gaza, cutting off all supplies. Aid deliveries resumed at a limited pace in late May, but international agencies say stocks built during the truce have since dwindled.

Tensions have mounted over the role of the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has largely sidelined the UN-led aid distribution network. The UN on Tuesday said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians seeking food aid near GHF distribution points since the end of May.

The UN says over 800 people were killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly shot by Israeli soldiers near GHF sites. UN agencies say the GHF system violates humanitarian neutrality principles.

The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said staff, doctors and aid workers were fainting from hunger. The Norwegian Refugee Council said it had run out of tents, food parcels and supplies. “There is nothing left,” said its director Jan Egeland.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called images of civilians killed at aid sites “unbearable” and urged Israel to follow through on promises to improve access.

GROUND OPERATIONS, AIR STRIKES CONTINUE

On Tuesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed 15 people across the enclave, including 13 in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. More than 50 people were wounded.

The camp, located along the Mediterranean coast, shelters thousands of displaced families living in tents and makeshift structures. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once during the conflict.

Raed Bakr, a 30-year-old father of three, described the attack as a nightmare. “Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air,” he told AFP. “The children were screaming.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) also accused Israeli forces of targeting its personnel. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said troops had entered a WHO staff residence in central Gaza, forced women and children to evacuate, and handcuffed and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.

Israeli forces expanded ground operations on Tuesday in Deir el-Balah, previously considered a relatively safe area. The Israeli military said its troops responded to gunfire in the area.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates between 50,000 and 80,000 people are currently living in Deir el-Balah, including around 30,000 in displacement camps. OCHA also said nearly 88 per cent of Gaza’s territory is now under evacuation orders or designated as militarised zones, further reducing the space available to civilians.

Hospitals are also overwhelmed by casualties and lack food and medicine to treat malnutrition. Around 600,000 people are suffering from hunger, including 60,000 pregnant women, according to the health ministry.

VATICAN OFFICIAL, ISRAELI HARDLINERS RESPOND

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called the humanitarian situation “morally unacceptable” after spending three days in Gaza. His visit followed an Israeli strike last week on the territory’s only Catholic church, which killed three people.

Meanwhile, far-right Israeli lawmakers met in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss a controversial redevelopment plan for Gaza, calling for a permanent Jewish presence and a “Gaza Riviera” complete with housing, industry, agriculture and coastal tourism infrastructure.

The war began after Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed 59,106 people in Gaza, the vast majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.