New Delhi: A group of independent United Nations experts has sounded the alarm on the devastating situation in the Gaza Strip, pointing to the recent deaths of several Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition as irrefutable evidence of famine, the United Nations mentioned in a press release on Tuesday (July 9). The experts attributed the fatalities to Israel’s intentional and targeted campaign of starvation calling it “genocidal violence”.
Fayez Ataya, a mere six months old, succumbed to malnutrition on May 30, while 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi and nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida met similar fates on June 1 and June 3, respectively. The experts emphasised that these heartbreaking incidents demonstrate the spread of famine across the entire Gaza Strip, with the health and social structures critically weakened.
“All three children died from malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare,” the experts said.
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The experts added: “With the death of these children from starvation despite medical treatment in central Gaza, there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza.”
They unequivocally attributed the deaths of these children from malnutrition and dehydration to Israel’s “intentional and targeted starvation campaign” against the Palestinian people, characterising it as “genocidal violence.” Further, they have urged the international community to take immediate action, prioritising the delivery of humanitarian aid by land and demanding an end to Israel’s siege and a ceasefire.
The experts said: “We declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza. We call upon the international community to prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire.”
The experts lamented that earlier warnings, such as the deaths of a two-month-old baby and 10-year-old Yazan Al Kafarneh in February and March, respectively, went unheeded, allowing the crisis to escalate.
Since October 7 last year, a staggering 34 Palestinians, mostly children, have succumbed to malnutrition, with inaction deemed complicit in the face of this humanitarian crisis, the experts noted. “The whole world should have intervened earlier to stop Israel’s genocidal starvation campaign and prevented these deaths.”
