• Over 222 Palestinians have died from starvation, including more than 101 children, due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.
• The situation in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels of hunger and malnutrition, with hospitals overwhelmed.
• International organizations report significant restrictions on humanitarian aid, contributing to the crisis.

Recent reports indicate that over 222 Palestinians have died from starvation, with more than 101 of those being children, amid the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has restricted essential supplies since early March. Reports detail that the blockade has resulted in acute malnutrition among nearly 12,000 children under five years old, constituting the highest figures on record. The Health Ministry in Gaza announced that five more individuals succumbed to starvation in just 24 hours, intensifying the humanitarian crisis, according to TRT Global and Al Jazeera.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted that 148 deaths have been attributed to malnutrition this year alone, emphasizing that the health situation in Gaza is dire. Many hospitals are only partially operational, facing critical shortages in medicines and other necessary medical supplies. Furthermore, the increase in hospital casualties has been linked to violence at food distribution sites, where 1,655 fatalities have occurred among individuals attempting to obtain food, as noted by AA and TRT Global.

Compounding the crisis, Israeli authorities are reported to have blocked the entry of over 430 essential food items into Gaza, further exacerbating the dire circumstances facing the population. The Government Media Office in Gaza highlighted that these restrictions include vital nutrition sources such as frozen meats, dairy products, and many other food supplies. This systematic obstruction has led organizations to characterize the situation as a deliberate act of starvation against the Gazan population, according to Al Jazeera and AA.