The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that more than 66,000 children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from severe malnutrition due to Israel's continued starvation policy, which has closed the crossings and prevented the entry of relief aid for more than two months.

UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna added in a statement that "hundreds of thousands of Palestinians eat one meal every two or three days."

Since March 2, the occupation authorities have closed the crossings with the Gaza Strip to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation of Palestinians, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

According to medical sources, the death toll from famine has risen to 57 since the start of the aggression, warning of a likely increase given the closure of crossings and the prevention of relief aid for more than two months.

Palestinian government and UN officials have repeatedly warned of the dangers of Israel's continued closure of the crossings, preventing the entry of essential supplies including food, medicine, fuel, and water into the Gaza Strip for two months.

According to a report by the Hebrew news website Walla on Monday, the Israeli government's security cabinet approved a plan the day before yesterday to resume the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip via an international fund and private companies. This mechanism has sparked widespread rejection from the Palestinian side and international institutions, who consider it a violation of humanitarian principles.

Commenting on the plan, the International Humanitarian Country Team in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said, "Israel has sought to shut down the current aid distribution system run by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners. This plan is inconsistent with international humanitarian principles, dangerous, and pushes civilians into military zones to obtain rations, threatens lives, and further entrenches forced displacement."

The Humanitarian Team is a strategic body led by the United Nations, comprising representatives of UN agencies and Palestinian and international NGOs, and operates under the supervision of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher have previously announced that the organization will not participate in any plan that does not adhere to the universal humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have been waging a relentless aggression against the Gaza Strip. To date, this has resulted in the deaths of 52,567 civilians, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 118,610 others, according to a preliminary toll. A number of victims remain under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulances and rescue teams.