Israeli starvation death toll approaches 150 as formula shortage threatens babies in Gaza
Israeli starvation of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip has led to at least 14 deaths in the past 24 hours, including an infant, the enclave's health ministry reported on Monday.
These latest fatalities bring the total death toll from Israeli-imposed starvation to 147, including 88 children, since Israel began its siege and war on Gaza in October 2023. Local officials say 40,000 infants are at risk of imminent death.
The blockade on the Palestinian enclave has fluctuated in intensity, but since March, Israel has prevented all food and aid from reaching starving Palestinians.
Among those who died on Monday morning was infant Mohammad Ibrahim Adas.
Officials at the war-ravaged al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where Adas was declared dead, said he died due to severe malnutrition and a lack of infant formula.
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Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital, warned that thousands more are at risk of meeting a similar fate.
“We warn of a significant increase in deaths as all areas of the Gaza Strip enter critical stages of hunger,” Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera.
He noted that children in the region have become "mere skeletons" and added that the "severe shortage of baby formula" poses a real danger.
“The malnutrition conditions of children during their growth phase will affect an entire generation in the region.”
The Gaza government media office warned on Monday that around 40,000 babies are at imminent risk of death due to the Israeli blockade preventing the entry of baby formula for the past five months.
It called the ban an “act of silent genocide”.
“There are over 40,000 infants under the age of one in Gaza at risk of slow death due to this criminal and suffocating blockade,” the office added.
Meanwhile, continued Israeli strikes and assaults killed at least 41 Palestinians as of midday on Monday, including eight queuing up for aid, according to local media.
Israeli forces killed over 59,800 Palestinians, including at least 17,000 children, since the war began nearly 22 months ago. More than 144,000 people have been wounded.
‘Farcical play’
The worsening Israeli starvation of Gaza has led to the deaths of over 70 people in the past week, prompting widespread international condemnation.
In response to mounting global criticism, Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin denied that starvation was occurring in Gaza.
He stated that the military "works to allow humanitarian aid" when the situation reaches a "problematic threshold".
The military added that "humanitarian pauses" would be implemented to facilitate the creation of an aid corridor. Still, it did not specify the number of trucks that would be allowed to enter Gaza.
It also announced plans to resume airdrops, a method long criticised by aid organisations as ineffective, as it delivers a negligible amount of aid.
'The world faces a historic responsibility'
- Gaza government media office
Despite these announcements, the government media office reported on Sunday that the hunger crisis was worsening.
It stated that only 73 trucks had entered Gaza over the weekend, most of which were looted under the cover of Israeli drones.
The media office further said that three Israeli airdrops only delivered the equivalent of two trucks of aid, with the cargo falling in combat zones, wounding 10 people.
"This is a farcical play, in which the international community is complicit against the starving people of Gaza through false promises and misleading information," it said, cautioning against claims that sufficient aid is reaching Gaza.
The government media office added that at least 600 trucks of aid are needed daily to begin addressing the dire needs of the population.
"The only real solution is the urgent and unconditional opening of crossings, the immediate breaking of the unjust siege, and the delivery of food and infant formula before it is too late," the statement concluded.
"The world faces a historic responsibility," it added.
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