3 more children in Gaza die of malnutrition, dehydration

The Health Ministry in Gaza said late Friday that three more children have died in Gaza City from malnutrition and dehydration.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said the children died in the Al-Shifa Hospital and the deaths bring the number of children who have died from malnutrition in Gaza to 23 since Oct. 7 .

Most of the children died in hospitals in the north which is reeling under a severe siege by Israel amid international warnings against possible famine, according to previous statements by the ministry.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Feb. 19 that the sharp rise in malnutrition among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in Gaza poses a “serious threat” to their health, particularly given Israeli forces’ ongoing attacks on the enclave.

Israel has launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. The offensive has killed more than 30,800 victims and injured nearly 73,000 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli onslaught amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.