Israel's blockade starved 57 to death in Gaza: Govt Media Office
Agencies
Gaza
Gaza's Government Media Office said at least 57 Palestinians have starved to death in the enclave due to the Israeli blockade, urging the international community to take action to secure the reopening of the borders.
A baby girl identified as Janan Saleh al-Sakafi was the latest to die of malnutrition and dehydration in the Rantisi Hospital, west of Gaza City, more than two months after the start of Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.
The statement by the Government Media Office on Telegram said the number is expected to increase as the crossings into Gaza remain closed and the entry of aid, baby formula and nutritional supplements has been prevented by Israel. It added that the vast majority of victims were children, as well as sick and elderly people.
It said: 'We condemn in the strongest terms the continued use of food by the Israeli occupation as a weapon of war and its imposition of a stifling blockade against more than 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip by completely closing the crossings for the 63rd consecutive day.' The office called on 'the international community, humanitarian organisations and human rights organisations to take immediate and effective action and exert pressure by all means to open the Rafah border crossing and all other crossings'.
Amid Israel's total blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Palestinians have become reliant on community kitchens where supplies are running out.
'Finding a single meal has become an impossible quest,' Ahmad al-Najjar, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera. 'People here have witnessed one charity after another declaring they're out of supplies, that they're shutting down their operations because they're in no position to … offer the population the needed relief.' Diminishing stocks have caused prices of basic foodstuffs to skyrocket at market stalls.
'If you have money, you can find something proper,' al-Najjar said, adding that across the cash-strapped Strip, most could not afford to buy. It's frustrating and infuriating to have trucks piling up on the other side of the fence be denied entrance while the people, even children, are in dire conditions.'
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