Gaza, July 25: Five starving children at a Gaza City hospital were wasting away, and nothing the doctors tried was working. The basic treatments for malnourishment that could save them had run out under Israelâs blockade. The alternatives were ineffective. One after another, the babies and toddlers died over four days.In greater numbers than ever, children hollowed up by hunger are overwhelming the Patientâs Friends Hospital, the main emergency center for malnourished kids in northern Gaza.
The deaths last weekend also marked a change: the first seen by the center in children who had no preexisting conditions. Symptoms are getting worse, with children too weak to cry or move, said Dr. Rana Soboh, a nutritionist. In past months, most improved, despite supply shortages, but now patients stay longer and donât get better, she said.
There are no words in the face of the disaster we are in. Kids are dying before the world … There is no uglier and more horrible phase than this,â said Soboh, who works with the US-based aid organization Medglobal, which supports the hospital.
This month, the hunger that has been building among Gazaâs more than 2 million Palestinians passed a tipping point into accelerating death, aid workers and health staff say. Not only children â usually the most vulnerable â are falling victim under Israelâs blockade since March, but also adults.