Yesterday morning, Saturday, infant Janan Saleh Al-Skafi died at Al-Rantisi Hospital west of Gaza City due to malnutrition resulting from the famine in the Strip, bringing the number of malnutrition victims in the Gaza Strip to approximately 57.

The infant, Al-Skafi, a resident of Gaza City, was receiving treatment and medical attention at Al-Rantisi Hospital, which had been rehabilitated after being bombed during the war.

Medical sources reported that approximately 60,000 children are suffering from malnutrition due to the Israeli occupation's strict blockade of the Gaza Strip, its closure of all crossings, and its prevention of the entry of essential supplies and humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine, and even fuel, for approximately 64 days.

UNICEF warned that more than 96% of women and children in Gaza are unable to meet their basic food needs. A United Nations report indicated that 1.95 million Palestinians out of a population of 2.2 million are suffering from critical levels of food insecurity.

Since the first hours of the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, starvation, particularly in northern Gaza, has been a weapon of mass destruction, genocide, murder, siege, and destruction.

The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip said in a statement that the number of victims of starvation and severe malnutrition has risen to 57 since the start of the war, the vast majority of whom are children, but also include the sick and elderly.

The office condemned in the strongest terms "the Israeli occupation's continued use of food as a weapon of war and its imposition of a stifling siege on more than 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip by completely closing the crossings for the 63rd consecutive day."

He added that the number of martyrs due to starvation is likely to increase "in light of the ongoing crime of completely closing the crossings and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, baby formula, nutritional supplements, and dozens of types of medicine."

The Government Media Office called on the international community and humanitarian and human rights organizations to take immediate and effective action to open the crossings and allow the entry of food and medicine "before it is too late."

Meanwhile, aid organizations in Gaza stressed that food, water, and fuel are running out and that the prices of the remaining scarce supplies are unaffordable, according to the Associated Press.

Oxfam in Gaza said that mothers in the Strip are feeding their children only one meal a day amid a stifling hunger crisis.

The Palestinian NGO Network warned that 70 community kitchens in Gaza will close within a week if the blockade continues and aid is prevented from entering.

For its part, the Norwegian Refugee Council noted that food production in Gaza is almost impossible due to Israeli airstrikes on the agricultural sector, adding that the Israeli navy is targeting fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

The council announced that no relief organization in Gaza had any tents left to distribute to the displaced, saying, "If Israel continues its blockade of Gaza, thousands will die and the system will completely collapse."

He added that Israel has created a situation in which Palestinians in Gaza cannot grow their own food or fish.

medicine shortage

Meanwhile, the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, warned of a severe shortage of most essential medicines and foods for patients.

He stated that the Gaza Strip is suffering from a severe shortage of more than 75% of essential medicines, noting that the ability to continue providing medical services is at stake, given that stocks of medicines and medical supplies are insufficient for more than a week.

He stressed that most medical services would cease without urgent and immediate intervention.

Since March 2, Israel has closed the Gaza Strip's crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation for Palestinians, according to government, human rights, and international reports.