Title: Gaza’s Hunger Crisis Deepens: Emaciated Children Fill Hospitals
In a heart-wrenching scene at the Al-Awda health centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, two Palestinian toddlers, their sunken eyes and emaciated faces a stark contrast to their oversized diapers, lay side by side on a bed. One wore a yellow cardigan, the other a stripy top, their thin, bony legs protruding.
Nurse Diaa Al-Shaer described an influx of malnourished children and patients with various illnesses, unprecedented in numbers, flooding the clinic.
One of the toddlers, Ahmed Qannan, weighed a mere 6 kg (13.2 lb), half his pre-war body weight, according to his aunt, Israa Kalakh, who stood vigil by his side, expressing deep concern for his deteriorating condition.
As Gaza continues to grapple with the aftermath of Israel’s prolonged air and ground assault, acute food shortages have exacerbated what the United Nations has deemed a nutrition crisis, compounding the wider humanitarian catastrophe.
The situation remains dire, with no immediate relief in sight for the vulnerable population enduring the consequences of conflict-induced deprivation.
