Chicago — June 27, 2024
Israel’s war in Gaza has exhausted the region’s health system, leaving workers unable to care for malnourished children. Doctors told CNN they are forced to turn away parents asking for baby milk and can’t even tell the difference between young patients with chronic illnesses exacerbated by hunger.
And as Israel continues to blockade Gaza to prevent aid groups from getting enough food to the enclave, parents say they have no choice but to watch their children starve to death. More than eight months of bombings have destroyed infrastructure, destroyed communities and destroyed entire neighborhoods. According to the UN, already stressed sanitation systems due to water shortages due to extreme heat have been seriously damaged, weakening the supply of clean water.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report published on Tuesday, which assesses global food security and malnutrition, warns that almost all of Gaza is at risk of starvation in the next three months.
The UN food agency has previously warned that southern Gaza could soon see the same “catastrophic levels of hunger” as the north, where Israel focused its military offensive in the early days of the war.
