HOSPITAL CHIEF REPORTS 21 GAZAN CHILDREN DIED OF MALNUTRITION IN JUST 3 DAYS
A leading hospital official in the Gaza Strip has reported that 21 children have died from severe malnutrition within a span of just three days, highlighting the growing humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the besieged Palestinian territory. The alarming figure was confirmed by Dr. Ayman Al-Kahlout, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who described the situation as “beyond a crisis — it is a slow, painful death sentence for our children.”
According to Dr. Al-Kahlout, most of the victims were under the age of five and had been admitted to the hospital with symptoms of acute malnutrition, dehydration, and immune system failure. “We tried everything we could with the limited resources we have,” he said. “These children didn’t die from illness alone — they died from the complete collapse of the health and food systems.”
The reported deaths come amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza and a crippling blockade that has severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid, food, and medical supplies into the enclave. United Nations agencies have repeatedly warned of the risk of famine, particularly in northern Gaza, where many families are cut off from aid and facing extreme shortages of clean water and nutrition.
UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) have expressed deep concern over the escalating number of child deaths linked to malnutrition and called for immediate humanitarian access. “This level of child mortality due to hunger is unacceptable and preventable,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. “We need unimpeded aid access now, or more children will die.”
Doctors and aid workers in Gaza have described heartbreaking scenes inside hospitals, where underweight and severely dehydrated children lie helpless in overcrowded wards. The situation is worsened by a lack of electricity, non-functional medical equipment, and dwindling stocks of essential medicines.
Local and international human rights organizations have accused all parties in the conflict of failing to uphold their responsibilities under international humanitarian law. “Starvation as a weapon of war is a violation of international law,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director for Human Rights Watch. “The blockade and restrictions on aid must be lifted to prevent more needless child deaths.”
The Israeli government maintains that it allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through approved corridors and blames Hamas for looting or obstructing supplies. However, humanitarian agencies argue that access is inconsistent, insufficient, and far from meeting the scale of the crisis.
Calls are growing around the world for a ceasefire and a large-scale humanitarian intervention. Several countries, including France, South Africa, and Ireland, have condemned the situation and urged the United Nations Security Council to take stronger action.
For parents in Gaza, the pain is indescribable. “I held my baby for the last time as she took her final breath. She hadn’t eaten properly in weeks,” said Rania, a mother at Kamal Adwan Hospital. “She didn’t deserve this.”
With conditions deteriorating daily, the reported deaths of 21 children in just 72 hours serve as a grim reminder of the urgency for international action. If the current trajectory continues, aid agencies warn that many more young lives will be lost — not to bombs, but to hunger.