Latest news with #SeemaJilani
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Every child under five in Gaza at risk of malnourishment: UN
The United Nations has warned that all children of Gaza under the age of five are at risk of life-threatening malnourishment, amid growing reports of starvation-related deaths as Israel continues to block aid from entering the besieged Gaza Strip. The UN's World Food Programme said children in this age bracket – around 320,000 in number – have been affected by the collapse of nutrition services and are lacking access to safe water, breast milk substitutes and therapeutic feeding. Paediatrician Seema Jilani told Al Jazeera that malnutrition 'affects their entire body', putting children at risk of multi-organ failure. She also said that starvation in Gaza is traumatic for children and that 'developmental milestones will be missed'. Hospitals in Gaza on Monday recorded six new deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including one child, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The total number of people who died from hunger-related causes since the start of the war now stands at 181, including 94 children. The ministry also sounded the alarm over a 'serious escalation' in cases of acute soft paralysis among children as a result of 'infections and acute malnutrition'. In a statement, it said it has so far recorded three deaths from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness in most of the body. Entry of over 22,000 aid trucks blocked Gaza's government said Israel was deliberately blocking more than 22,000 humanitarian aid trucks from entering the territory as part of a systematic campaign of 'starvation, siege and chaos'. The Palestinian territory has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2, shortly before Israel ended a two-month ceasefire and resumed attacks. Mosab al-Dibs, 14, has been at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for about two months after suffering a severe head injury when an Israeli air raid struck his family's tent in May. The boy is largely paralysed and severely malnourished because the facility no longer has supplies to feed him. 'Mosab now suffers from severe malnutrition,' his mother, Shahinaz al-Dibs, said. 'He suffers convulsions as a result of a hit that affected his brain. Even his nerves are stiff.' The situation in Gaza was nothing short of catastrophic. by Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International At a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza, Samah Matar said her sons – six-year-old Yousef and four-year-old Amir – have cerebral palsy and need a special diet. Youssef weighed 14kg (31lb) before the war. Now, he weighs 9kg (20lb). Amir, who weighed 9kg (20lb), is now less than 6kg (13lb). 'Before the war, their health was excellent,' she said. 'Now, there is no baby formula or diapers, and I can hardly find flour for them. Sugar, the main ingredient in their meals, is unavailable.' Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International, told Al Jazeera that the situation in Gaza was 'nothing short of catastrophic.' 'This is about almost four months of this blockade, of starvation that has built over weeks and months, and to come back from that point of extreme malnutrition and starvation requires a sustained supply of food and medical equipment and also food supplements for children in need,' he said. The organisation said more than four in 10 (43 percent) pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking treatment at its clinics in Gaza in July were malnourished. The rate was almost three times higher than in March, when Israel reimposed a total siege on Gaza. Infant formula has not been allowed to enter the Strip. 'It's possible to reverse some [of the damage done to children by hunger],' Alhendawi said. 'But I'm afraid that some of this damage would be irreversible at this stage.'
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Every child under five in Gaza at risk of malnourishment, says UN
The United Nations has warned that all children of Gaza under the age of five are at risk of life-threatening malnourishment, amid growing reports of starvation-related deaths as Israel continues to block aid from entering the besieged Gaza Strip. The UN's World Food Programme said children in this age bracket – around 320,000 in number – have been affected by the collapse of nutrition services and are lacking access to safe water, breast milk substitutes and therapeutic feeding. Paediatrician Seema Jilani told Al Jazeera that malnutrition 'affects their entire body', putting children at risk of multi-organ failure. She also said that starvation in Gaza is traumatic for children and that 'developmental milestones will be missed'. Hospitals in Gaza on Monday recorded six new deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including one child, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The total number of people who died from hunger-related causes since the start of the war now stands at 181, including 94 children. The ministry also sounded the alarm over a 'serious escalation' in cases of acute soft paralysis among children as a result of 'infections and acute malnutrition'. In a statement, it said it has so far recorded three deaths from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness in most of the body. Entry of over 22,000 aid trucks blocked Gaza's government said Israel was deliberately blocking more than 22,000 humanitarian aid trucks from entering the territory as part of a systematic campaign of 'starvation, siege and chaos'. The Palestinian territory has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2, shortly before Israel ended a two-month ceasefire and resumed attacks. Mosab al-Dibs, 14, has been at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for about two months after suffering a severe head injury when an Israeli air raid struck his family's tent in May. The boy is largely paralysed and severely malnourished because the facility no longer has supplies to feed him. 'Mosab now suffers from severe malnutrition,' his mother, Shahinaz al-Dibs, said. 'He suffers convulsions as a result of a hit that affected his brain. Even his nerves are stiff.' The situation in Gaza was nothing short of catastrophic. by Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International At a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza, Samah Matar said her sons – six-year-old Yousef and four-year-old Amir – have cerebral palsy and need a special diet. Youssef weighed 14kg (31lb) before the war. Now, he weighs 9kg (20lb). Amir, who weighed 9kg (20lb), is now less than 6kg (13lb). 'Before the war, their health was excellent,' she said. 'Now, there is no baby formula or diapers, and I can hardly find flour for them. Sugar, the main ingredient in their meals, is unavailable.' Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International, told Al Jazeera that the situation in Gaza was 'nothing short of catastrophic.' 'This is about almost four months of this blockade, of starvation that has built over weeks and months, and to come back from that point of extreme malnutrition and starvation requires a sustained supply of food and medical equipment and also food supplements for children in need,' he said. 'It's possible to reverse some [of the damage done to children by hunger], but I'm afraid that some of this damage would be irreversible at this stage.'
The Guardian
29-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The west is complicit in the killing of children in Gaza
Thank you, Nesrine Malik, for saying so movingly what many of us have felt throughout the Israeli assault on Gaza (Goodbye to the lost children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it, 27 January). Most western media have been reluctant to call out the horror for what it is. One sentence in her excellent article stands out for me: the killing of children on such a scale was 'unnecessary and only permitted because Palestinian life as a whole has been made cheap by the logic of Israel's absolute right to defend itself by whatever criminal means it likes'. Western governments and media have been shamefully complicit in overlooking these atrocities, taking no significant action to restrain or condemn Israel, maintaining neutrality between those dropping the bombs and the babies underneath them. Even now, Palestinian suffering is underemphasised. The attention given to the fewer than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza is grossly disproportionate to that given to the suffering of the Palestinians, including the more than 9,000 Palestinian detainees, many of them held without trial or FosterChelmsford Several years ago, I attended the funeral of a three-year-old. It was a harrowing experience, and one which I never wish to have to repeat. I have often thought of this little boy and his funeral during the course of the relentless onslaught on the people of Gaza. I have tried to imagine the profound grief and sorrow I witnessed then, multiplied again and again, every day, every night, and affecting so many families, so many mothers, so many fathers. We must never forget that behind all these numbers there are individual children, the loss of whom will have an incalculable impact on the lives of their loved ones, and I am grateful to Nesrine Malik for reminding us of StoneSheffield Is there a more moving account of the despair of death, destruction and attempts at making things 'good' in a war zone, than Seema Jilani's (To the unknown child: I tried to save your young life in a Gaza hospital. Now your face haunts me, 24 January)? I believe not. And that she would carry the feelings of blame, guilt and incompetence, saying: 'When your soul floated up beside me, was the devil there too, recounting my sins?' I think the sins lie with Hamas, Israel, the vested interests of other nations and all who have violence as an option in mind. To all the decision-makers and excusers of war who say: 'It is terrible, but…' I say leave out the 'but' and let this article touch you. It will be pasted on my wall, as it should be in any president's and any general's room, particularly those who target civilians to achieve military 'goals'.Wico van MourikGainford, County Durham Seema Jilani, thank you for being present where I cannot be. Thank you for holding each precious child when I cannot. You and your associates are miracles. Glenyth McKenzieAshgrove, Queensland, Australia Tacitus said it all in a single sentence: 'They make a wilderness and call it peace' ('I'm coming to a place that looks like hell': the long road home for Gaza's displaced, 28 January).Tom OrchardMiddleton, Greater Manchester Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
