Over 9,000 Kids in Gaza Treated in Hospitals for Acute Malnutrition in October, According to UN Figures.
Although a cessation of hostilities was put in place two months back, malnutrition is still wreaking havoc among Gaza’s young. Updated data from the UN shows that over 9,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition in October alone.
Although the imminent danger of starvation has lessened for the bulk of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza in the wake of the halt in fighting on 10 October, United Nations and relief organizations state continuing constraints around their humanitarian aid shipments. Officials report these shipments are far short of the needs of a population debilitated and scarred by two years of war, homelessness, and living in flimsy shelters.
“While visiting Gaza's medical facilities, I encountered multiple babies who were under one kilogramme, their little bodies laboring with the effort of staying alive,” stated Tess Ingram, a representative of the UN child protection agency Unicef.
Shockingly High Numbers Remain
As per Unicef statistics, 9,300 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in October. That figure is markedly fewer than the maximum of 14,000 children recorded in August, but far greater than the child malnutrition rate during the previous ceasefire in February and March of this year.
“The total is still disturbingly elevated,” Ingram noted, briefing journalists by video from Gaza.
In October, about 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women were also treated for acute malnutrition.
“This pattern is a grave warning and it will likely result in underweight newborns being born in the Gaza Strip for the foreseeable future,” Ingram stated further. “The crisis is not finished. Entire lineages, even those born currently into this ceasefire, have been forever altered by the trauma they experienced.”
Aid Deliveries Continue to Be Not Enough
Unicef and other UN agencies say that humanitarian shipments entering Gaza have grown compared to the peak of the conflict, but are yet entirely insufficient compared to the scale of need.
Typically 140 aid trucks a day have crossed so far in December, in shipments coordinated by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. This number is far short of the goal of 600 trucks a day agreed upon in the ceasefire.
These statistics do not include government-to-government assistance and commercial shipments, which have grown more steeply than UN-coordinated deliveries during the cessation of hostilities. This has lowered market prices for many commodities, but they remain beyond the reach for the great bulk of people in Gaza who have had no income for over 24 months and who have depleted their savings.
Logistical Hurdles
After the halt in fighting, aid has been facilitated via a global operations hub called the Civil-Military Coordination Centre led by the US and Israel and with representatives of other countries backing the truce. However, diplomats and aid officials say that the Israeli army continues to have the ultimate authority in authorizing shipments into Gaza.
The UN reported that among eight humanitarian convoys planned with Israeli authorities on a recent Sunday, just four were allowed through.
