Innocent children are paying the price of Israel-Hamas war. The condition of these children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza’s hospital clearly describes the curse of war. Asma al-Arja, holding her two-year-old daughter’s weak arm, shows her raised ribs and bloated stomach. The girl is lying on the hospital bed, takes a deep breath and then starts crying uncontrollably.
This is not the first time that Mayar has come to Gaza’s hospital battling malnutrition, but this time it was very difficult for him to spend 17 days in the hospital. He has a celiac disease, which is an ‘autoimmune’ disorder in which the intake of gluten (an element found in wheat and barley) starts attacking its own healthy cells and tissues.
This means that she cannot eat food containing ‘gluten’ (wheat, maida, semolina etc.) and requires special food. But after the 19 -month war and the harsh blockade of Israel, there are very few eating options for her in the war -torn area and what is available is not digested.
Her mother, sitting next to Mayar at Nasir Hospital in Khan Younis, said, “She needs diaper, soy milk and special food. Due to the closure of the border, it is not easily available, where these things are available, they are very expensive that I cannot bear. ”
According to the United Nations Children Agency, Mayar is one of more than 9,000 children who have been treated for malnutrition this year and food safety experts say thousands of such cases are expected to be reported in the coming year.
Experts have also warned that if Israel does not stop its military campaign and does not completely remove its blockade, then there may be a famine -like situation in the area.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that people are already dying of hunger. Nester Ovomuhangi, representative of the United Nations Population Fund for Palestinian regions, said, “Wherever you look, people are hungry. … They gesture to say that (they) need to eat something. ”
Israel has relaxed the blockade, but very little assistance has been reached to Palestinians. For more than two months, Israel has banned all food, medicine and other items from entering the area, where a population of about 2 million Palestinians resides.
Palestinians residing in Gaza are almost entirely dependent on external aid to survive as Israel’s invasion has destroyed almost all food production capabilities of the region.
