UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday that it was "receiving desperate messages of starvation" from its Gaza staff, as the Palestinian territory experiences surging levels of hunger.
Gaza's population of more than two million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with doctors, the civil defense agency and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting a spike in malnutrition cases in recent days.
In a post on X, UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed "the entire population for over three months."
"The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped," it wrote. "Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale."
After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May.
The civil defense agency on Sunday reported at least three infant deaths from "severe hunger and malnutrition" in the past week.
Eighteen reportedly died of starvation within 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, the ministry said.
"Infants under one year of age suffer from a lack of milk, which leads to a significant decrease in their weight and a decrease in their immunity that makes them vulnerable to diseases," said Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital.
Israel on Monday said there was "no ban or restriction on the entry of baby formula or baby food into Gaza."
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that "over 2,000 tons of baby food and infant formula were delivered into Gaza", without specifying the time frame.
"We urge international organizations to continue coordinating with us to ensure the entry of baby food and formula without delay. Our commitment remains firm: to support humanitarian aid for civilians -- not for Hamas," COGAT wrote on X.
The war was sparked by Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,029 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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