The Spanish newspaper "El País" reported, citing employees from the non-governmental organization "Action Against Hunger," that around 30% of children under the age of two in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe malnutrition.
Cristina Izquierdo, a humanitarian worker and specialist in the organization who recently returned to Spain after a month of work in Gaza, stated to the newspaper: "Palestinians are starving, and their bodies are not receiving the necessary energy; their tissues are deteriorating and their skin is damaged, which is why we see exhausted individuals in the photos."
She added: "The living conditions of the children are worse, as the lack of food slows their growth process, and in many cases, treatment is not possible, as the immune system fails and many die due to the outbreak of infections."
According to the newspaper, to declare famine in an area, three criteria must be met: 20% of the population must suffer from hunger, the rate of malnutrition among children must exceed 30%, and two out of every 10,000 people must die daily due to a lack of food. Although Izquierdo mentioned that the process of determining this situation is "complex," she confirmed that the organization already knows that 30% of children under the age of two in Gaza suffer from severe malnutrition.
More than one million people in Palestine face the risk of catastrophic famine and death by mid-July, according to a joint report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) stated that children in Gaza are experiencing an endless nightmare, and that bombings, forced displacement, food and water shortages, and lack of access to education are causing trauma for an entire generation.
