UNRWA Warns More Than One Million Gaza Children Starvation Amid Israel's Blockade

Children queue for food in Gaza. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Agency for Assistance and Work for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned of more than one million children in the Gaza Strip, Palestine is currently suffering from starvation due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.

In a statement released on Sunday, UNRWA accused Israeli authorities of deliberately making civilians in Gaza starving, including a large number of children.

The agency called for an immediate lifting of the blockade and urgent humanitarian access, demanding the entry of food, medicines and essential supplies needed to survive, reported by WAFA July 21.

UNRWA further warned that the level of malnutrition among children under the age of five had risen sharply between March and June this year, directly related to the tightened siege of the Gaza Strip.

According to the UN agency, its health centers and medical posts carried out nearly 74,000 screenings of malnutrition during this period. This screening reveals about 5,500 cases of severe acute malnutrition and more than 800 cases of acute malnutrition are very severe.

It is known that the latest conflict in Gaza broke out after a Palestinian militant group attacked Israel's southern region on October 7, 2023, leaving 1,200 people dead and another 251 held hostage according to Israeli calculations.

Israel responded to this by blocking, airstrikes and military operations in the Gaza Strip region.

Israel and the Palestinian militant group agreed to a ceasefire and exchange of hostages and detainees on January 19.

At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to be still alive. The majority of the initial hostages have been released through diplomatic negotiations, although the Israeli military has also released several hostages.

On March 2, Israel again carried out a total blockade against Gaza under the pretext of pressuring Palestinian militant groups to agree on a ceasefire proposed by the United States and a exchange of hostages.

As the ceasefire agreement ended, Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18.

As of yesterday, Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip since the latest conflict broke out have reached 58,895, while another 140,980 have been injured, according to medical sources in Gaza.