UN experts warn that children across the Gaza Strip are dying from malnutrition

A group of eleven independent UN experts, including right to food advocate Michel Fakhry, have denounced the deaths of several children from malnutrition in central and southern Gaza, indicating that the famine has spread to all areas of the strip.

Experts have cited the cases of Fayez Ataya, only six months old; Ahmed Abu Rida, nine years old; and Abdulqader al Serhi, 13, who lost their lives between May 30 and June 3. “After these deaths, caused by lack of food, despite receiving medical treatment in the centre of the strip, there is no doubt that the famine has spread from northern Gaza to the central and southern regions,” they said.

Experts have also pointed out that after nine months of war, “the death of a child due to malnutrition and dehydration shows that health and social structures have been attacked and severely weakened”, which has killed more than 38,000 people, of which about 16,000 are children. In addition, according to local authorities in Gaza, 34 of the dead are people who died from malnutrition.

“We declare that the deliberate hunger campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has led to famine throughout Gaza,” the experts condemned, calling for an end to the Israeli blockade and “prioritizing the delivery of humanitarian aid by land and by any means.” In addition, they warned that “inaction is complicity” in the deaths of children.

In their statement, they recalled the deaths of a two-month-old baby and a 10-year-old boy in northern Gaza between late February and early March. “The whole world should have intervened sooner to stop Israel’s genocidal hunger campaign and prevent these deaths,” they lamented. The signatories also include the UN envoy for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, and her counterpart for displaced persons, Paula Gaviria, and the right to water, Pedro Araujo-Agudo.