New York - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
UNICEF said that “the child deaths that we feared” have become a reality, as malnutrition sweeps the Gaza Strip, noting that at least ten children have died due to dehydration and malnutrition in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip in recent days, according to reports.
Adele Khodour, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a press statement on Sunday that the feeling of helplessness and despair among parents and doctors when they realize that life-saving aid - which is only a few kilometers away - is out of reach, must be unbearable. Unbearable.
But what is worse, according to Ms. Khader, are the cries of pain of these children who are “slowly dying under the eyes of the world,” stressing that the lives of thousands of children and infants depend on the urgent measures that are being taken now.
She said there were likely to be more children fighting for their lives somewhere in one of Gaza's few remaining hospitals, "and there were likely to be more children in the north unable to access care at all." According to what was mentioned in the daily Al-Ahbar bulletin of the United Nations

“Hungry, exhausted and in shock”
Adele Khodour said that the significant shortage of nutritious food, clean water and medical services is a direct result of the obstacles to aid access and the multiple risks facing UN humanitarian operations, which affects children and hinders the ability of mothers to breastfeed their children, especially in the northern Gaza Strip.
She said the mothers and their children there were "hungry, exhausted and in shock. Many are clinging to life." The regional director explained that the disparity in conditions between the north and the south is clear evidence that the restrictions imposed on aid in the north are claiming lives.
She said malnutrition screenings conducted by UNICEF and the World Food Program in the north in January found that about 16 percent - 1 in 6 children under the age of 2 - were suffering from acute malnutrition. Similar examinations conducted in southern Rafah, where aid is more available, found that 5 percent of children under the age of two were suffering from acute malnutrition. Adele Khudour went on to say:
“Humanitarian relief agencies, like UNICEF, must be empowered to overcome the humanitarian crisis, prevent famine and save the lives of children. That is why we need multiple reliable entry points to allow us to bring in aid from all possible crossings, including into northern Gaza; security guarantees and passage.” "Unimpeded distribution of aid on a large scale throughout Gaza, without denial, delay or impediment to access."
'An imminent explosion in child deaths'
UNICEF has warned since October that the death toll in Gaza would rise dramatically if a humanitarian crisis emerged and was left to fester. Adele Khudour said that the situation has only gotten worse, and renewed the warning of “an imminent explosion in child deaths if the worsening nutrition crisis is not resolved.” New York - Gaza
“Now, the child deaths we feared are now a reality, and are likely to increase rapidly unless the war ends and obstacles to humanitarian relief are resolved immediately,” she said.