Gaza authorities warn of “worsening famine” due to Israel’s blockade of aid

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Action Against Hunger activates a malnutrition prevention program in Deir al Balá, in the center of the Strip

May 31. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The authorities of the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), have warned this Friday of the “worsening famine” in the enclave due to Israel’s military offensive and obstacles to the delivery of aid and fuel, for which he has blamed the Israeli and American authorities for “an imminent humanitarian catastrophe.”

“We warn of the intensification of the food, water and medicine crisis and the worsening of famine and thirst due to the fact that the Israeli occupation and the US Administration prevent the entry of aid and fuel to Gaza,” said the press office of the Gazan authorities.

Thus, he stressed through a statement published on his Telegram account that “the Israeli occupation Army continues to close all the crossings that lead to Gaza for 24 days” with the “full support” of Washington, which “increases the possibilities of famine in the Strip, subjected to a genocidal war.

In this way, he recalled that more than three weeks have passed since the Israeli Army took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt, suspending military operations in the area, which added to the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing has caused “a complex humanitarian crisis that prevents 22,000 wounded and sick from traveling for treatment outside Gaza.”

“This also prevents the entry of humanitarian aid and food supplies to the Strip, where some 2.4 million people live, including two million displaced people who depend on humanitarian aid,” he stressed, before adding that “close to “A quarter of a million heads of families have lost their jobs due to the genocidal war.”

In this sense, he insisted that “the Israeli occupation prevents the entry of fuel, cooking gas and medicine as part of its policy of pressure on civilians”, which “is a crime against humanity”, before elaborating on that the lack of fuel “increases the chances of deepening hunger and thirst among civilians, especially children and women.”

“The moral and humanitarian image of the United States Administration and the Israeli occupation has been shattered by the catastrophe of hunger, murder, genocide and systematic destruction of residential neighborhoods, infrastructure, water pipes, waste and electricity networks and all sectors and aspects of life in Gaza,” he said.

Thus, he stressed that the situation “has clearly been planned by the occupation and the Americans” and has also condemned the latest attacks on camps for displaced people. “We call on all countries in the free world to condemn these crimes against humanity and the genocidal war against the defenseless Palestinian people,” she added.

For this reason, it has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international judicial bodies to “try Israeli and American war criminals” for “an unparalleled historic holocaust” and to impose “the harshest punishments for these terrible crimes.” “.

The press office of the Gazan authorities has also reiterated its call to the international community to pressure Israel to open the Gaza border crossings and has warned that “the reality in the Strip is close to being out of control, which would lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

PROGRAM AGAINST MALNUTRITION IN DEIR AL BALÁ

For its part, the non-governmental organization Action Against Hunger (ACH) announced this Friday the activation in Deir al Balá (center) of a program to prevent malnutrition among children under five years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers with babies. less than six months.

Thus, the organization has highlighted that more than half a million children and mothers need nutritional help and that half of the population of the Strip suffers or is on the verge of starvation due to the serious humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli offensive, launched after the attacks carried out on October 7 by Hamas.

“In the clinics we see malnourished boys and girls, especially those under two years old. We are seeing how the lack of food affects their development: they do not grow within the average size they should have for their age and, internally, vital organs such as the heart, kidneys or lungs are weakened; they are immunosuppressed and suffer more severely from infections,” explained the nutrition and health coordinator of the Action Against Hunger emergency team.

“In addition, they are boys and girls who have not received any vaccination in the last seven months and who live in very precarious conditions. They do not have access to decent health infrastructure. We receive them sick, especially with cough and possible pneumonia, and when we treat them In the clinics, we identify that they suffer from malnutrition,” he added.

For this reason, the NGO has activated a program in which it distributes lipid-based nutritional supplements aimed at reducing the incidence of acute malnutrition in children over six months of age with the intention of supporting more than 13,000 vulnerable people.

“Before October 7 we did not have nutrition and health programs because it was not necessary, but given the current circumstances, we saw that we had to do everything possible as soon as possible,” he argued, before detailing that the program “distributes a extra supplement of 270 calories, about 50 grams, which they take daily for 15 days.”

“After two weeks they again receive the ration for the next 15 days. We also give the mothers training on breastfeeding or care before they return to their tents or shelters,” he said, amidst the NGO’s warnings about that half of the Gazan population faces the risk of famine.