Razan Abu Zaher, a four-year-old Palestinian girl, died on Sunday at a hospital in the Gaza Strip after more than a month of intensive treatment for malnutrition. Admitted on June 11, her condition steadily worsened due to the lack of appropriate care. “There was nothing to strengthen her,” her mother told CNN, devastated by the inability to save her.
Razan’s death adds to the growing list of children who have died of hunger in the Palestinian enclave. According to local health authorities, at least 76 children have died of malnutrition in Gaza since October 2023. Over the past weekend alone, four children, including a three-month-old baby, were reported to have died, according to Latin Times.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with access to aid still severely restricted. For the fifth consecutive month, Israel has significantly limited the entry of food, water, medicine, and fuel into the Gaza Strip, where more than two million Palestinians reside. The Israeli government has claimed that Hamas diverts portions of the aid, an allegation the Palestinian group has categorically denied.
World leaders have criticized the Israeli government’s strategy, accusing it of cynically using hunger as a weapon of war to decimate Gaza’s population.
Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, spokesperson for the hospital where Razan died, described the crisis as “the most critical phase of the famine” and denounced “unprecedented international silence,” according to comments reported by CNN.
Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a warning to the Security Council, stating that available food supplies were running dangerously low. “Those trying to obtain food risk being killed. People are dying just trying to feed their families,” he told CNN. In June alone, more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with acute malnutrition.
The UN has also reported a surge in extreme malnutrition cases arriving at hospitals, where medical teams are overwhelmed and unable to provide adequate care. On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described the situation as “deeply troubling.”
Against a backdrop of chronic shortages, healthcare workers say they are witnessing unbearable scenes. “Honestly, I think the lucky ones are those who die immediately,” Dr. Sarmad Tamimy, a surgeon working with Medical Aid for Palestinians, told CNN. He described treating patients with severe infections, maggot-infested wounds, and other complications linked to the lack of basic care.
Since May, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by both the United States and Israel, has set up several aid distribution points. But these sites have become extremely dangerous: nearly 1,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed while trying to access aid, either by gunfire or Israeli drone strikes, Latin Times reported.
https://ctninfo.com/?p=35651&preview=true
Source: CNN
