Despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, malnutrition is still wreaking havoc among Gaza’s youth. Recent United Nations statistics reveal that over 9,000 children were admitted to hospital with acute malnutrition in October alone.
While the immediate threat of famine has receded for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza following the halt in fighting on 10 October, humanitarian groups indicate continuing restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments. Officials report these shipments fall well below the needs of a population weakened and traumatised by 24 months of conflict, homelessness, and living in inadequate housing.
“While visiting Gaza's medical facilities, I encountered a number of infants who weighed less than one kilogramme, their little bodies laboring with the effort of staying alive,” remarked Tess Ingram, a official with the UN child protection agency Unicef.
Shockingly High Numbers Remain
As per Unicef statistics, 9,300 children were hospitalised with severe acute malnutrition in October. That figure is markedly fewer than the peak of 14,000 children reported in August, but far greater than the child malnutrition rate observed during the earlier truce in February and March of this year.
“This remains an alarmingly large figure,” Ingram commented, 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 could very well cause low birthweight babies coming into the world in the Gaza Strip for many months ahead,” Ingram added. “The situation persists. Entire lineages, even those born currently into this ceasefire, have been permanently changed by what was inflicted upon them.”
Humanitarian Shipments Are Still Inadequate
Unicef and other UN agencies say that relief convoys reaching Gaza have increased compared to the peak of the conflict, but are yet entirely insufficient relative to the requirements of the population.
An average of 140 aid trucks a day have crossed so far in December, in shipments coordinated by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. This figure is significantly under the goal of 600 trucks a day established under the ceasefire.
This data exclude direct country-to-country aid and trade deliveries, which have risen more dramatically than shipments organized by the UN during the cessation of hostilities. These have reduced market prices for many commodities, but they are still unattainable for the vast majority of people in Gaza who have had no source of money for in excess of two years and who have used up all their saved funds.
Operational Difficulties
After the halt in fighting, aid has been organized by a multinational hub referred to as the Civil-Military Coordination Centre run by the US and Israel and including representatives of other countries supporting the ceasefire. Nevertheless, representatives and relief staff state that the Israeli army retains veto power in authorizing shipments into Gaza.
United Nations officials stated that from eight humanitarian convoys coordinated with Israeli authorities on a recent Sunday, only four had been facilitated.
