At least 101 people, including 80 children, die of hunger and malnutrition in Gaza
More than 100 people, mostly children, have died of malnutrition since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in 2023, new figures from Palestinian officials show.
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At least 101 people, 80 being children, have died of hunger in the wake of October 7, 2023, with most deaths coming in recent weeks.
21 of those deaths have come in the last 72 hours, doctors on the ground in Gaza revealed on Tuesday.
The UN has blamed rising hunger and malnutrition on Israel’s continued blockade of Gaza, which has seen the region’s people “drip-fed” aid, a policy the UK government has branded “inhumane.”
Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, added that around 900,000 children in Gaza are suffering from hunger.
At least 70,000 of them are in a state of malnutrition, he warned.
Gaza's health ministry said 33 people in total have died from malnutrition in last 48 hours.
It comes as the UN chief Antonio Guterres warns Gaza's 'last lifelines' are collapsing, with humanitarian conditions deteriorating at an 'accelerating' pace.
In a statement, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson said Gaza's humanitarian system 'is being impeded, undermined and endangered'.
A UN spokesperson says Mr Guterres 'deplores the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition' occurring in Gaza, adding: 'The population in Gaza remains gravely undersupplied with the basic necessities of life'.
Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on 2 March, preventing aid deliveries from entering the territory until trucks were again allowed in again in May.
In a post on X, the UN's Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) said the shortages caused food prices to surge by 40 times.
It added that the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed 'the entire population for over three months.'
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned Israel could face further sanctions, insisting the UK is 'not complicit' in what we're seeing in Gaza.
He said he 'regrets hugely' not being able to bring about the end of this 'horrendous' war, but stands by the government's record.
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, he said: "We suspended arms sales that could be used in Gaza. We restored funding to UNRWA. We suspended a free trade agreement discussion with the Israeli government.
"Three packages of sanctions for violent settlers. We sanctioned Israeli government ministers. So we have acted and we will act further."
Mr Lammy expressed his continued support for an "enduring ceasefire, not a pause", adding: "This war has got to come to an end."