GAZA— The Government Media Office in Gaza announced Saturday that 66 children have died of severe malnutrition since the beginning of the war, attributing the rising death toll to the ongoing Israeli blockade, the complete closure of crossings, and the continued prevention of the entry of baby formula and nutritional supplements critical for infants and the sick.
In its official statement, the media office condemned what it described as the Israeli occupation’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war. “This behavior constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity,” the statement said, “and reveals the Israeli occupation’s deliberate use of starvation to exterminate civilians, especially children, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.”
The office expressed outrage over what it called the international community’s shameful silence in the face of this mounting crisis. It held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the unfolding catastrophe, while also holding complicit the states that provide political and military cover for Israel’s actions, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, accusing them of active participation in grave violations and genocide.
The statement urged the United Nations, international institutions, and Arab and Islamic nations to intervene immediately and pressure Israel to open the crossings, allow food and medical aid into the Strip, and act before what remains of Gaza’s children and sick population are lost.
Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, Director General of Field Hospitals at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, stated that eight children have died since March alone from hunger and related complications, bringing the total to 66.
He explained that most of the victims are children and the elderly and warned that the numbers are likely to rise rapidly as humanitarian and medical conditions deteriorate.
Al-Hams said that the health system in Gaza has also recorded 144 deaths in neonatal units, 206 intrauterine deaths, 18 deaths immediately after birth, 58 cases of birth defects, and 2,164 miscarriages from the beginning of the year until the end of May. He confirmed that more than half of all pregnant women in Gaza, 56%, are currently suffering from malnutrition, a condition that threatens the lives of both mothers and fetuses and is expected to fuel a rise in mortality in the coming months.
The medical sector, he added, is collapsing under the weight of massive shortages. Hospitals are experiencing a 55% shortage in medicines and essential supplies. Fuel is almost nonexistent, with only minimal quantities available for life-saving services and no strategic reserves. The collapse of public health has led to a surge in medical complications linked to hunger and untreated chronic diseases, including diabetic foot, strokes, heart attacks, and severe blood pressure conditions. Without proper hospital care or rehabilitation services, many patients are dying preventable deaths.
Malnutrition is no longer a temporary crisis in Gaza; it has become an entrenched, systematic form of suffering. According to the World Food Program, 1.2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip now suffer from food insecurity. Among them are 785,000 children who do not have access to nutritious food, and 70,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition that threatens their survival.
