UN Warns: 1 Million Gaza Children Face Starvation
<p><strong>Global Outcry as Gaza Children Face Starvation Amid Blockade</strong></p><p><strong>Gaza:</strong> Disturbing images of children clutching empty pots in long queues for food aid have sparked international outrage, highlighting a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The <strong>United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)</strong> has warned that <strong>one million children</strong> are at risk of starvation and called for an end to the siege to allow life-saving food and medicine to reach civilians.</p><p>“Malnutrition rates have risen rapidly since the tightened blockade on March 2,” said <strong>Juliette Touma</strong>, UNRWA Director of Communications, speaking from Amman. UNRWA reports that over <strong>240,000 children under five</strong> have been screened in its clinics since January 2024, with cases of severe malnutrition — previously rare — increasing sharply. <strong>UNICEF</strong> reported that more than <strong>5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in July alone</strong>, including over 1,000 with severe acute malnutrition.</p><p>Although Israel lifted an 11-week blockade in May to allow limited UN aid, <strong>UNRWA remains largely unable to deliver supplies</strong>. Fuel, medicines, and hygiene products are nearly depleted. Israel’s COGAT agency says <strong>67,000 trucks carrying 1.5 million tonnes of food</strong>, including 2,000 tons of baby food, have entered Gaza, but allegations persist of aid diversion. In response, Israel and the U.S. created the <strong>Gaza Humanitarian Foundation</strong>, operated by private U.S. firms, which the UN has refused to work with.</p><p>On Monday, the <strong>UK and 24 other Western nations</strong>, including France, Canada, Australia, and Italy, issued a <strong>joint call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire</strong>, warning that Gaza’s humanitarian situation has reached “new depths.”</p>
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