The humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifies as the Hamas-run health ministry reports seven more malnutrition-related deaths, with 154 confirmed since the conflict began. Accusations of violence at aid distribution sites complicate the situation, prompting international discussions on the ongoing blockade and its effects on civilians.
Malnutrition Deaths Rise in Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
Malnutrition Deaths Rise in Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
Seven additional fatalities from malnutrition reported in Gaza, raising total to 154 since the onset of Israel-Hamas hostilities.
Seven more individuals have succumbed to malnutrition in Gaza within the past day, according to the health ministry administered by Hamas. This brings the total fatalities due to malnutrition to 154, with children accounting for 89 of these deaths since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023.
On Tuesday, global food security experts, supported by the UN, issued alarming warnings that the worst-case scenario of famine is "currently playing out" in the region. In response, Israel maintains that it is not imposing restrictions on aid into Gaza, a claim contested by various international entities, including close European allies and UN agencies involved in the area.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to arrive in Israel on Thursday to discuss the deepening crisis. In a troubling development, sources in Gaza reported that six Palestinians lost their lives near an aid distribution center operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah on Wednesday morning. Crowds reportedly attempted to enter the center shortly before its scheduled opening and faced fire from an Israeli tank, though the GHF denied any killings occurred at their site.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alter echoed a different rendition of events, stating that soldiers instructed a gathering of suspects, deemed a potential threat, to disperse prior to firing "warning shots" from a considerable distance. They asserted that preliminary reviews suggest casualty figures presented by Hamas do not align with their intelligence.
Increasingly, fatal incidents near GHF aid distribution points have been reported, with Palestinians frequently blaming the Israeli military for shootings targeting individuals seeking aid.
On Wednesday, the Hamas-led health ministry reported another grim tally of 103 fatalities, including 60 individuals who were allegedly killed while trying to access assistance. In March, Israel implemented a total blockade on aid to Gaza, resuming military operations against Hamas shortly thereafter and ending a two-month ceasefire with the goal of exerting pressure on the group for the release of remaining Israeli hostages.
Since then, despite a marginal easing of the blockade in response to dire warnings of impending famine by global authorities, food, medicine, and fuel shortages have intensified. Israel's military response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 abductions, initiated the current conflict. According to Hamas, the Israeli military campaign has claimed 60,138 lives.
In a politically charged moment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted vehemently to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's proposal to recognize a Palestinian state should Israel fail to meet specific conditions, such as agreeing to a ceasefire. Netanyahu claimed this stance was tantamount to rewarding "Hamas' monstrous terrorism," while a British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas warned that Starmer was "not standing on the right side of history," reiterating the risks of conflating political negotiations with acts of terror.
