As widespread hunger spreads in Gaza, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has stated that one in three people in the city are going without food for days due to hunger. Since October 7, 2023, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been deteriorating day by day due to the genocidal attacks by the Israelis on the people of Gaza. Noting this, UNICEF said that immediate steps need to be taken by the international community to improve the situation in Gaza. Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, recently made a trip to Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a statement issued after the trip, he said that more than 320,000 children in Gaza are at risk of malnutrition due to lack of food. He said that the extent to which malnutrition is likely to spread in Gaza indicates that widespread hunger has spread in Gaza.
Chaiban further said that UNICEF now wants to focus its attention on Gaza. He said that the people of Gaza are currently suffering the most pain and that children in Gaza are dying in large numbers. He said that with two paths ahead, the path chosen today could save the lives of thousands of children. Atif Abu Khatir, a 17-year-old Palestinian citizen, was martyred in Gaza on August 2 due to malnutrition. Khatir, who was in good health before the war, was hospitalized a week ago in very poor condition. However, his father says that his condition has not changed due to the treatment given at the hospital.
Since October 2023, the Israelis have martyred more than 60,000 people in Gaza. This includes more than 18,000 children. It is believed that many more children are buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health said that 162 people have been martyred in Gaza so far due to hunger. This includes 92 children. Ahmed Al-Najjar, a journalist from Gaza, said that the people of Gaza are facing calamity and oppression due to Israeli attacks, lack of food, and a sense of insecurity. He says that no area of Gaza is a safe area. Noting that there is no way to ensure one’s own safety and security, Najjar said that even if one goes out on the street to find something to eat, there is no guarantee that one will be able to return.
In March, the Israelis stopped allowing any amount of food and aid supplies into Gaza. After that, at the end of May, the Israelis allowed a small amount of aid supplies to enter Gaza. However, the distribution of aid supplies has been entrusted to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is linked to Israel and the United States. GHF is accused of violating human rights in the distribution of aid supplies. The UN said that 1,300 people from Gaza who approached GHF’s aid distribution centers were martyred by the Israelis near those centers. Most of them were shot and martyred by Israeli soldiers and American contractors who provide security for GHF.
As the hunger situation in Gaza has worsened to an extreme degree, photos and videos of hungry children in the city are circulating rapidly on social media. With this, international pressure on the Israelis has increased, and the Israelis have now been forced to allow more aid supplies to enter Gaza. Last week, the Israelis announced that they would pause attacks at certain times and in certain areas to allow aid supplies to enter.
In this situation, some Western countries and Arab countries are providing food to Gaza by air. However, aid organizations say that thered organizations say that there are questions about whether providing aid to Gaza in this way will provide a safe and desirable solution to the hunger situation in the city. On behalf of UNICEF, Chaiban said that in this situation, aid supplies should be brought into the city through every available route. However, he said that the results achieved by bringing aid supplies by land cannot be achieved by providing food only by air. He said it is essential to bring supplies from about 500 trucks into Gaza.
Chaiban further said that what is happening in Gaza is inhumane. He said that what the children of Gaza need is a sustainable cessation of attacks and a permanent peaceful solution.
