Gaza/Nawa Network-Filastiniyat:
Residents of northern Gaza are suffering from an escalating famine and an unprecedented deterioration of humanitarian conditions due to Israel's prevention of the entry of aid, food, and medicine as a tool of political pressure.
Data from the north warn of a high number of deaths due to hunger, especially among hundreds of thousands of children, who are directly threatened by malnutrition. Among them are 3,500 children who are close to death due to lack of food, nutritional supplements and vaccinations, according to the government media office in Gaza.
The mother of Yazan Abu Al-Qumsan, a resident of the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, is trying to help him walk. He has reached one year of age, yet he cannot stand on his feet, and he has only two teeth in his lower jaw!
His pale-looking mother wonders, "How will he be able to stand and walk when he only eats canned food?" She pointed out that the price of a single egg—if available in the markets—reaches 15 shekels (around 5 dollars).
Yazan's father was a daily wage laborer at the Al-Zawiya market. When the war broke out on October 7th of last year, he completely stopped working and no longer has any income to support his family.
He says, "I get food from charitable distribution centers (tkiya) and also some canned goods from international organizations. We haven't eaten anything other than that for ten months."
He complains that his young son, along with his daughters Yusra (5 years) and Majda (7 years), show symptoms of malnutrition. He adds, "But I am very worried about the youngest because he still cannot stand on his feet. He cannot stand even if he leans on anything."
In June, the newborn Amal Maqat, who was born a month prematurely, died due to malnutrition. Her father, Ahmed, says, "We have come to expect our children to die one after another due to famine."
According to the head of the incubator department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the malnutrition department is overcrowded with cases of severe malnutrition, which are accompanied by serious health issues such as respiratory problems, chest infections, and severe dehydration.
He said, "These cases require special care, which is not available in the north, nor at Kamal Adwan Hospital."
He added, "The famine will devastate all age groups of the Palestinian population in northern Gaza. If we do not address this issue very quickly, we are heading towards a real famine that could result in death at a very young age."
Ahmed Maqat tells us that his wife went for several months without sleep, food, or drink while she was pregnant with their daughter. He pointed out the lack of medications or medical and nutritional supplements in hospitals or pharmacies, "which led to the death of my daughter and the deterioration of my wife's health," he said.
The leg of two-year-old Yassin was broken after he fell from a chair in front of the tent set up by his father, following the bombing of their home in the Al-Nasr neighborhood in western Gaza City.
His mother says, "He was jumping off the chair, and the chair isn’t high. I didn’t expect his leg to break so easily."
The mother tells us that the doctor diagnosed her child with osteoporosis due to malnutrition. She added, "We only eat canned food. Milk and eggs are not available, and if they are, they cannot be bought due to their high price."
She continues, crying: "My child has only grown two molars so far. Even his canines are not fully developed. What we are going through is very difficult," expressing her hope that the war will end soon.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which is prepared by several humanitarian agencies, the entire Gaza Strip is classified as being in an emergency situation, which is the fourth phase of the classification. The report indicated that more than 495,000 people (22% of the population) are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, just one step before famine (Phase 5).
Phase 5 of acute food insecurity, where households face extreme food shortages, starvation, and have exhausted their coping capacities.
Experts from 19 UN agencies, ranging from the World Health Organization to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), work on the classification. Additionally, four donor countries contribute by gathering and analyzing data to measure food insecurity and better guide effective responses.
