Alarm of increased famine in Gaza

Fayiz Abu Ataya was born in the middle of a raging war. In his seven months of life, he never got to experience anything else.

At least 30 children are said to have died of starvation in war-torn Gaza, The Guardian reports. Israel’s offensive against Rafah is rapidly worsening the situation.

Fayiz Abu Ataya died during his first and only spring. In the last few weeks, he faded into a transparent shadow – a far cry from the round, happy boy seen in pictures on his father’s phone. In photos taken at the end of May, the eyes and cheekbones have sunken in, the arms and legs are slender sticks, and the bones of the ribcage seem to almost pierce the bluish skin.

In other pictures, he has dressed up for his funeral. A small, small body in a much too big blue winter overall.

In the past, the famine has been concentrated in northern Gaza. Ataya’s death in Dayr al-Balah last week became a warning signal about the rapidly worsening situation since the Rafah border crossing was closed by Israel, writes The Guardian. On Saturday, another child, a 13-year-old boy, reportedly died of malnutrition in the city in central Gaza.

– The ongoing situation in Rafah is a disaster for the children, says Unicef’s head of communications Jonathan Crickx to the newspaper.

Contradictory information

Over 3,000 malnourished children are at risk of being left without treatment as a result of the cut-off in aid supplies, according to Crickx.

The data on the number of trucks with emergency aid reaching Gaza varies widely depending on the sender. According to the UN, aid supplies have dropped sharply in recent weeks, while Israel claims that over a thousand trucks have driven emergency aid into the strip of land in the past week alone.

The difference is that Israel counts all trucks that pass the Kerem Shalom border crossing, even those that are not fully loaded, while the UN only counts those that are fully loaded and reach their targets, writes The Guardian.

Warns of more deaths

Among others, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch has repeatedly accused Israel of using famine as a weapon of war. The fighting has also forced the majority of hospitals in Gaza to close. This week, a field hospital in Rafah where malnourished children were cared for was forced to close, according to Save the Children.

– Gaza is facing the worst of the worst levels of malnutrition, especially among children, and it is entirely man-made, says Alexandra Saieh of the organization, to Al Jazeera.

In a joint statement, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and Save the Children warn of an imminent increase in deaths from starvation, disease and denied care.