Gaza: 4-Year-Old Palestinian Girl Dies from Malnutrition as Israeli Blockade Continues

Four-year-old Palestinian child Razan Abu Zaher has died of complications from malnutrition and hunger as Israel continues to block humanitarian aid from entering the war-torn enclave for over four months.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza announced the death of the little girl on Sunday.

She was suffering from brain atrophy and severe malnutrition as Israel continues to block the entry of the therapeutic milk vital to her condition.

Earlier this month, her family urged for her to be allowed to travel for treatment before it’s too late.

On Saturday, two children also died from malnutrition: Yahya Al-Najjar and 35-day-old infant Jawad Al-Anqar.

Abu Zaher is now the 72nd child to lose life to starvation since the start of the genocide.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are “on the verge of catastrophic hunger,” with one in three people in the enclave going days without food.

Health officials in Gaza issued a stark warning lately: Hundreds of severely emaciated Palestinians are on the verge of death, their bodies too weak to resist any longer.

The Director of Al-Shifa Hospital said hospitals are dealing with hundreds suffering from severe hunger and malnutrition. “We don’t have enough beds or medicine,” he said. “We’re seeing symptoms like memory loss, exhaustion, and collapse from extreme hunger.”

He added: “We have 17,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition. This is a generation being starved to death.”

According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, over 650,000 children under the age of five face an imminent and severe risk of acute malnutrition in the coming weeks, out of a total of 1.1 million children in the Gaza Strip.

Currently, around 1.25 million people in Gaza are living under catastrophic hunger conditions, while 96% of the population is suffering from severe levels of food insecurity, including more than one million children, according to the Office.

UNRWA warned on Sunday, “The Israeli Authorities are starving civilians in Gaza. Among them are 1 million children.”

Jagan Chapagain, the secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, warned that Palestinians in Gaza face “an acute risk of famine”.

“No one should have to risk their life to get basic humanitarian assistance,” he said.