Spanish
Jerusalem.- The Gaza Ministry of Health reported four new deaths from "starvation and malnutrition" recorded on Wednesday, two women and two men, one of them elderly, bringing the total to 239 deaths from these causes since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in October 2023. Of that total, 106 were children, according to data released this Thursday, corresponding to the previous day.
Health, under the authority of Hamas in the enclave, indicated that deaths linked to malnutrition have increased in recent weeks. Humanitarian organizations attribute the rise to the context of the total blockade imposed by Israel between March 2 and May 19, which interrupted the entry of food, medicine, and fuel, and to the persistent shortages since then.
The UN warned that Gaza is on the brink of famine, stating that more than a third of the population goes days without eating and that malnutrition indicators have reached critical levels since the beginning of the conflict. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, two of the three famine thresholds have been reached — collapse of food consumption and acute malnutrition; the third, mortality from malnutrition, has not been fully demonstrated independently.
Under international pressure, Israel announced at the end of July "humanitarian pauses" on certain routes to facilitate the entry of aid. COGAT and other Israeli authorities indicate that around 300 trucks currently enter daily, compared to 50–100 in June and around 200 after the start of the pauses, while NGOs and local sources maintain that the volume remains below the minimum of 500 required and denounce incidents of looting before organized distribution. The Gaza government also questions the official figures and significantly lowers them.
