Four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher died in central Gaza from complications caused by hunger and malnutrition, according to a medical source. At least 76 children in Gaza have died of malnutrition since the conflict began in October 2023, as well as ten adults, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Most of these occurred since Israeli authorities imposed a blockade at the beginning of March. Over the past 24 hours, 18 deaths have been recorded due to famine in Gaza, reflecting a deepening crisis in the territory.
Razan was one of at least four children to succumb in the last three days, the youngest just three months. Over the past 24 hours, 18 deaths have been recorded due to famine in Gaza, reflecting a deepening crisis in the territory. The Israeli agency that manages the flow of aid into the Gaza strip, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), said in a statement that the IDF is “working to allow and facilitate the transfer” of humanitarian aid, including food. Since the beginning of the hostilities and up to this day, approximately 67,000 food trucks have entered the Gaza Strip, delivering around 1.5 million tons of food.
Gaza was heavily dependent on aid and commercial shipments of food before the conflict began in October 2023, and shortages of food, medical supplies, fuel, and other necessities have only worsened since. An unprecedented number of starving citizens of all ages are arriving at emergency departments in severe states of exhaustion and fatigue.
World Central Kitchen confirmed that its Gaza teams had run out of ingredients to cook warm meals, forcing their operations to pause. Over 70 people were reported to have been killed in northern Gaza as they desperately sought food aid, according to the health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said troops in the area fired warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to them. Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, said that a significant number of civilians and even medical staff are arriving in a state of fainting or collapse due to severe malnutrition. Nearly 800 Palestinians were killed while trying to access aid in Gaza between late May and July 7, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, told the UN Security Council that food was running out in Gaza, and people are dying trying to feed their families. Starvation rates among children had reached their highest levels in June, with more than 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed as acutely malnourished.
