UNICEF forced to shut down malnutrition centers in Gaza amid worsening humanitarian crisis
GAZA: The UN Children's Fund has closed 21 malnutrition treatment centers in the Gaza Strip, citing ongoing Israeli military operations and recent evacuation orders in the areas where these centers were operating.
Kazem Abu Khalaf, a spokesperson for the organization, said on Sunday that the closures were directly linked to Israel's renewed military actions and the increasingly volatile security situation, Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
Abu Khalaf added that UNICEF was currently awaiting findings from a special body tasked with assessing the scale of food insecurity in Gaza, with the aim of presenting a comprehensive picture of the deteriorating conditions.
The closures come as Gaza faces an unprecedented humanitarian emergency, exacerbated by Israel's continued blockade of aid into the enclave.
According to UNICEF, Israeli authorities have blocked all crossings into Gaza for 35 consecutive days, preventing the entry of food, medical supplies, and nutritional supplements.
On Saturday, UNICEF issued a stark warning, stating that more than one million children in Gaza have been cut off from life-saving humanitarian assistance for over a month.
The organization condemned the blockade, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law with devastating consequences for children and other vulnerable groups.
UNICEF confirmed it has thousands of aid parcels ready for immediate delivery but has been unable to gain access. It also revealed that food supplies for infants in Gaza have been entirely depleted, while the remaining stock of ready-to-use infant milk is only sufficient to feed 400 children for one month.
The crisis in Gaza has intensified since the resumption of hostilities in March, which ended a temporary ceasefire which came into force earlier this year.
Israel's war with Hamas, which started in October 2023, has left much of Gaza's infrastructure in ruins and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of the risk of famine and a collapse of basic health services unless humanitarian access is urgently restored.
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