Gaza: The number of deaths from hunger and malnutrition in Gaza Strip within the past 24 hours has risen to 18, in a stark indicator of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe caused by the ongoing Israeli siege and aggression.
According to the Palestinian news agency (WAFA), citing medical sources, hospitals in Gaza are receiving hundreds of patients daily suffering from acute exhaustion and severe symptoms of hunger, including memory loss and extreme energy deficiency, amid a near-total shortage of hospital beds and medical supplies.
The sources reported that the total number of hunger-related deaths now reached 86, including 76 children - most of them in the northern part of the Strip.
Around 17,000 children are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, with at least 800 children facing life- threatening severe malnutrition.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) earlier warned of a doubling in malnutrition rates among children under five. Between March and June, the agency conducted nearly 74,000 screenings, which revealed thousands of cases of severe acute malnutrition.
Gaza's hospitals are entirely unable to meet the population's urgent health needs, as Israeli occupation continues to block the entry of food, medicine, and fuel - raising fears of a total collapse of the healthcare system and a further spike in deaths in the coming days.
