Although a cessation of hostilities was put in place two months back, malnutrition is still wreaking havoc among Gaza’s young. Updated data from the UN shows that more than 9,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition in October alone.
While the immediate threat of famine has receded for the bulk of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza in the wake of the ceasefire announcement on 10 October, humanitarian groups indicate ongoing restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments. These agencies assert these shipments are far short of the needs of a population debilitated and scarred by 24 months of conflict, homelessness, and existing in inadequate housing.
“In Gaza’s hospitals I have met several newborns who were under one kilogramme, their small frames struggling with the struggle to survive,” remarked Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for the UN child protection agency Unicef.
Alarmingly Elevated Numbers Continue
As per Unicef statistics, 9,300 children were hospitalised with severe acute malnutrition in October. That figure is significantly less than the maximum of 14,000 children seen in August, but far greater than the child malnutrition rate reported during the earlier truce in February and March of this year.
“The total is still disturbingly elevated,” Ingram commented, briefing journalists by video from Gaza.
That October, about 8,300 expectant and nursing mothers were also treated for acute malnutrition.
“This trend serves as a serious alarm and it will likely result in infants with low birth weights coming into the world in the Gaza Strip for many months ahead,” Ingram continued. “The crisis is not finished. Multiple family lines, among them infants arriving today into this ceasefire, have been forever altered by the trauma they experienced.”
Humanitarian Shipments Continue to Be Inadequate
Aid groups within the UN state that humanitarian shipments entering Gaza have increased since the height of the war, but are still completely inadequate compared to the humanitarian needs.
On average 140 aid trucks a day have crossed so far in December, in convoys organised by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. This figure is well below the goal of 600 trucks a day set as part of the ceasefire.
This data do not include direct country-to-country aid and trade deliveries, which have grown more steeply than aid convoys run by the United Nations since the truce began. They have brought down the cost of many goods in markets, but they remain beyond the reach for the vast majority of people in Gaza who have had no income for in excess of two years and who have used up all their saved funds.
Logistical Hurdles
Since the ceasefire, aid has been organized by a global operations hub known as the Civil-Military Coordination Centre led by the US and Israel and including representatives of other countries backing the truce. Nonetheless, diplomats and aid officials say that the Israeli army continues to have the ultimate authority in authorizing shipments into Gaza.
The UN reported that among eight humanitarian convoys coordinated with Israeli authorities on a recent Sunday, only four had been facilitated.
