HUNGER CRISIS Emaciated children seen at Gaza hospitals

Two Palestinian toddlers with sunken eyes and emaciated faces, one in a yellow cardigan and the other in a stripy top, were lying side by side on a bed in a Gaza clinic, their thin, bony legs protruding from diapers that looked too big for them.

This was the scene on Monday at Al-Awda health centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, where nurse Diaa Al-Shaer said children suffering from malnutrition and from a range of diseases were arriving in unprecedented numbers.

“We will face a large number of patients who suffer from this, which is malnutrition,” she said.

The toddler in the yellow cardigan, Ahmed Qannan, weighed 6 kg (13.2 lb), half of his pre-war body weight, according to his aunt, Israa Kalakh, who was by his side. “His situation worsens each day. God protect us from what is coming,” she told Reuters.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that 15 children had died of malnutrition or dehydration at Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, the part of the enclave where the lack of food is most extreme.

“The unofficial numbers can unfortunately be expected to be higher,” said World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.

Reuters obtained video filmed on Saturday at Kamal Adwan, showing a woman, Anwar Abdulnabi, weeping over the body of her daughter Mila, a toddler, who had just died in her bed.

“My daughter, my beautiful daughter, my gentle daughter has passed away,” cried Abdulnabi. She later said through her tears that Mila had been suffering from calcium and potassium deficiencies.