On the third day, a hundred after the resumption of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Munir Al -Barash, revealed the escalation of the numbers of children who die of starvation, stressing that the Israeli occupation “is delighted to kill them”, amid the continuation of the siege, the closure of crossings and the ignorance of the international community.
In an intervention on Al -Jazeera, Al -Barash said that the number of children who were martyred as a result of acute malnutrition reached 66 so far, the last of which is the 3 -month -old girl, Juri Al -Masry, indicating that the most fragile groups, foremost of which are children, are at the forefront of the victims.
He pointed out that these numbers reflect the depth of the humanitarian crisis experienced by the residents of Gaza, with the occupation forces deliberately preventing the introduction of food and medicine, and their insistence on keeping the crossings closed despite the escalation of the numbers of victims day after day.
Al -Barash explained that the reports of the Global Food Security Program confirm that about 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza suffer from food insecurity, including 785,000 children deprived of healthy food, while about 70,000 children suffer from severe malnutrition.
He pointed out that since the crossings were closed, 8,923 cases of malnutrition were recorded among children, including more than a thousand suffering from severe malnutrition that threatens their lives.
Disastrous
Al -Barash said that the catastrophic conditions are not limited to children, but also include thousands of patients who are waiting for transfer for treatment outside Gaza, and 546 patients have died so far because of their inability to travel, in light of the interruption of medical transfers completely.
He believed that there is a real opportunity to save children with malnutrition, provided that the crossings are opened and the treatment of therapeutic milk and medical supplies, stressing that the health cadres in Gaza are able to provide treatment, but they are deprived of the necessary tools.
He expressed his regret, saying: “If this milk does not enter, then the destiny is death,” the occupation is responsible for causing these deaths, especially as it deliberately depriving infants of milk as a slow killing.
He pointed out that the occupation is not satisfied with preventing food, but rather targets civilians who are trying to reach aid, citing the killing of a doctor while trying to bring food to his children.
Al -Barash stopped at the recent “Haaretz” report, which exposed the practices of the occupation soldiers, as the Israeli army was documented to disperse the crowd instead of gas, which led to deaths and injured in the vicinity of the aid distribution centers.
Targeting
In this context, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis reported the martyrdom of a Palestinian and the injury of others with the fire of the occupation forces near the aid center north of Rafah, in a repeated incident targeting civilians in the aid gathering areas.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 549 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 near aid distribution centers, along with more than 4 thousand injured.
Al -Barash accused the occupation of following a systematic destruction policy, citing reports that the Israeli soldiers are receiving financial rewards in exchange for the destruction of buildings, stressing that Jabalia camp was “more than his father’s ball”, and that its residents became in the open without shelter, food, or even tents.
He warned that the Gaza Strip entered the “post -disaster” stage, where people wander in the streets without shelter, while children die successively in the arms of their mothers, amid an unjustified international deficit.
Al -Barash called on the international community to immediately and effectively move to pressure the occupation authorities to open the crossings and end the siege, before the famine devoured the remaining children of Gaza.