Medical workers are measuring the circumferences of small children for signs of wasting flesh as a hunger crisis hits Gaza after months of Israel's military onslaught.
Palestinian girls sit together next to a wall-mounted mirror in their home in an impoverished neighbourhood during stormy weather in Gaza City on February 17, 2021.
A small two-and-a-half-year-old girl with tiny arms and loose skin has experienced significant weight loss. Her mother, Hana Tabash, shared with Reuters that her daughter weighed 11kg before the conflict, but she now only weighs 7kg.
Initial data from measurements taken around Gaza shows that 5% of those under five in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave are now acutely malnourished, the U.N. Humanitarian Office OCHA said last week.
Doctor Muhammed Abu Sultan, one of the doctors from the Medglobal Team working with the U.N. children's agency UNICEF, said the poor health conditions in Gaza and lack of adequate food were causing the widespread malnutrition.
Israel is facing accusations from aid agencies for hindering the delivery of assistance into Gaza. The military's restrictions have limited distribution to southern areas near Rafah. The hunger crisis is reportedly even more dire in the harder-to-reach northern region.
Tabash continued telling Reuters that her daughter had been underweight even before the war began, and, after the family had fled their home in Khan Younis, ending up displaced in Rafah, where a million people are sleeping in rough shelters, she's grown much thinner.
"I used to give her medical treatments and supplements, but with the current situation, I can't find a solution for her," Tabash said, adding that her daughter had developmental delays.
Some Horrifying Numbers
Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 28,500 Palestinians since Oct. 7, most of whom are women and children.
Ammar Ammar, UNICEF's regional communications head based in Jordan, revealed that over the coming weeks, there would be at least 10,000 children in Gaza whose lives are at extreme risk from malnutrition fueled by a lack of clean drinking water.
"There is also a direct impact in terms of physical development, cognitive ability, school performance, and productivity later in life." from the malnutrition they are suffering now, Ammar stated.
Israel continues to deny reports confirming there are limitations on humanitarian aid entering Gaza and has blamed all problems on U.N. distribution capacity.
