Fifteen more Palestinians die from starvation amid Israeli-imposed famine

Fifteen Palestinians died from malnutrition under an Israeli-imposed famine in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday. 

Four of them were children, including three identified as the infant Yousef al-Safadi, Abd al-Jawad al-Ghalban, 16, and Ahmad Hasanat.

One of the adults was identified as 32-year-old woman with special needs, Raheel Rosros. 

Medical officials confirmed the deaths occurred across Gaza's north and south, underscoring widespread starvation amid severe shortages of food and aid.

The latest death bring Gaza's starvation toll to at least 101 Palestinians, including 80 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. 

Rosros' father, Muhammad Rosros, told Middle East Eye that his daughter's suffering from malnutrition and dehydration began over a month ago. 

"From before the start of the war, she used to eat whatever she wanted, but she had lost everything she once used to ask for," he said.

He indicated that she could not stomach the types of food brought into Gaza in the past few months. 

Several Palestinians have previously told MEE that upon receiving their box of aid they found the supplies to be woefully inadequate.

Rosros explained that his daughter used to weigh around 50 kilograms. She died weighing less than 25 kilograms.

'Only God knows how we’re managing to get anything at all, how we gather every bite, how we feed our children.'

- Muhammad Rosros, Palestinian father 

He added that her sister, who also had special needs, was killed as a result of Israeli bombing earlier this year. 

"One died as a result of shelling, the other died due to malnutrition," he said. "Praise be to God."

Rosros worries that he might lose his other two children, one deaf and the other autistic, from malnutrition.

"I stopped fearing for my children from the constant shooting and strikes. Now, I am afraid for them because of hunger, that's all," he said.

"The hunger that has struck us is not normal. We would have never imagined. No one cares about us, not any Arab, Muslim or western country, none of them sympathise with us and what is happening to our children.

The father of four said he recently paid 120 shekels (around $35) for just one kilogram of flour, and 70 shekels (approximately $20) for a small glass of cooking oil.

Due to the sharp rise in the price of food and other essentials, Rosros, who is currently unemployed, said he no longer knows how he will provide for his surviving children in the days ahead.

"Only God knows how we’re managing to get anything at all, how we gather every bite, how we feed our children.

"But no one is sympathising. There’s no money, no income, no life," he said.

How can a child possibly endure this?

Ghalban's mother, Marwa al-Ghalban, explained that her son had brain paralysis, and that displacement, malnutrition, and dehydration had worsened his already fragile condition before he died earlier this morning. 

"Today, God took him away, with all His mercy," Ghalban told MEE.

She added that the last time her son had eaten a proper meal was during Ramadan in March.

"The situation has only worsened since then," she explained.

'Many have already died from malnutrition, and many more will die'

- Abdel Sattar al-Ghalban, Palestinian man 

Ghalban said her son had lost a significant amount of weight in recent months, estimating that his body mass had dropped to just 12 kilograms.

He had required nutritional supplements, milk, and nappies, but none were available due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and shortages.

His uncle, Abdel Sattar al-Ghalban, noted that Abd al-Jawad had required a special diet that included high-protein foods, milk, and sugars.

"There’s a shortage of food, water, and milk affecting all Palestinian children. Many have already died from malnutrition, and many more will die due to the lack of food and water," he told MEE.

"Most children in Palestine are dying of hunger. Even adults are beginning to collapse from malnutrition and dehydration, how can a child possibly endure this?"

Israel 'starving civilians'

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, accused Israel on Sunday of “starving civilians”, including a million children, through its siege on vital food and medical deliveries into the Gaza Strip. 

Unrwa called on Israel to lift its blockade and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely. At militarised distribution sites run by the US- and Israel-backed GHF civilians trying to access the food are being shot and killed by the Israeli army.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that infant deaths caused by starvation are rising.

“These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,” civil defence spokesperson Mahm0ud Bassal told AFP. 

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Since Israel broke a six-week ceasefire in March, Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza.

Although limited aid has trickled in since late May, supplies accumulated during the truce have run out, pushing the territory into the worst shortages since the war began.

The situation is particularly dire for pregnant women and newborns. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its clinics are seeing record numbers of malnutrition cases.

“Many babies are being born prematurely due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women,” said MSF doctor Joanne Perry.

Rosros urged for the world to look at people in Gaza with "the eyes of mercy".

"We are a peaceful people, we don't war, we want an immediate ceasefire. We want the aid to enter. We want to live like the Ummah [Muslim nations]. How the rest of the world's children are living, we want our children to live like that.

"The whole Ummah, and the whole world has shut its eyes away from us. The entire world has betrayed us... no one is standing with us except for God."