GAZA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 57 Palestinians, mostly children, have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, a Palestinian health official said Saturday.
"The number of deaths linked to malnutrition continues to rise amid the ongoing Israeli blockade and the near-collapse of the health sector," Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals in the Gaza-based health authorities, told Xinhua.
The official noted that a majority of residents are suffering from anemia due to prolonged poor nutrition and the lack of basic food supplies, and field hospitals are witnessing increasing cases of anemia among blood donors, which hampers emergency medical services.
Al-Hams also warned that patients with chronic diseases, including cancer and kidney failure, are "dying silently" due to the lack of treatment and specialized care.
"The injured and chronically ill require urgent care that we can no longer provide," he said, noting that only a few field hospitals are still operating, largely run by volunteers.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run government media office accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon against the civilian population.
"What is happening exceeds the definition of a humanitarian catastrophe ... it is a war crime under international law," the media office said in a statement, which also claimed that Israel continued to restrict the entry of aid and target infrastructure related to food and health.
Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2 following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The second phase has yet to be implemented due to a lack of consensus between the parties.
On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in the enclave. At least 2,396 Palestinians had been killed and 6,325 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 52,495, and injuries to 118,366, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Saturday. ■
