Gaza: Starvation death toll rises to 382

Arab Sea Newspaper - News Updates

Arab Sea - Follow-ups: The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced the death of 6 Palestinians due to systematic Israeli starvation, bringing the total to 382, including 135 children, since October 7, 2023. In a statement, it said: "The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip recorded 6 deaths in the past 24 hours, including a child, as a result of famine and malnutrition." The ministry added that with these victims, "the total number of malnutrition deaths rises to 382 martyrs, including 135 children." It stated that since the "Integrated Food Security Phase Classification" organization declared famine in Gaza, 104 deaths have been recorded, including 20 children. On August 22, the organization announced the occurrence of famine in Gaza City (north), and expected it to extend to Deir al-Balah (center) and Khan Yunis (south) by the end of September. Since March 2, Israel has closed all crossings leading to Gaza, preventing any food, medicine, or humanitarian aid from entering, plunging the sector into famine despite the accumulation of relief trucks on its borders. This comes as the Government Media Office announced that the ongoing Israeli genocide for 700 days has resulted in almost complete destruction of 90 percent of the infrastructure, and initial losses exceeding $68 billion. In a statement published on its Telegram channel, the office said, "The Israeli occupation continues for the 700th day its war of genocide, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip amid shameful international collusion and silence." It added that "this war has resulted in almost complete destruction of 90 percent of the infrastructure, and initial losses exceeding $68 billion, with the occupation controlling more than 80 percent of the area of the sector by military force and forced displacement." It further stated that "during this period, the occupation committed bloody massacres that led to the martyrdom and loss of 73,731 people, including more than 20,000 children and 12,500 women, in addition to the complete annihilation of 2,700 families from the civil registry." The office continued that "during this period, the occupation killed 1,670 medical personnel, 248 journalists, 139 civil defense men, and 173 municipal employees, and more than 162,000 others were injured, including thousands of cases of amputation, paralysis, and loss of sight." It said that "the occupation forces are carrying out a systematic crime of forced displacement against our Palestinian people, especially in Gaza City and the north of the sector, by preventing them from returning to their homes and destroying their neighborhoods and vital facilities, in a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute, which makes it a war crime and a crime against humanity that requires international prosecution." The Government Media Office pointed out that "the occupation destroyed 38 hospitals, 833 mosques, and 163 educational institutions completely, and thousands of institutions were severely damaged." It stated that "the occupation imposed a systematic starvation policy through a comprehensive siege against the civilian population and preventing the entry of hundreds of thousands of trucks of food and aid, causing a humanitarian catastrophe that threatens the lives of more than 2.4 million people, including more than one million children who are on the verge of death from starvation." It condemned "in the strongest terms the continuation of this criminal war," holding "the Israeli occupation and the countries supporting it, led by the United States of America, fully responsible for these crimes." With American support, since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving 64,300 dead and 162,005 injured Palestinians, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 382 Palestinians, including 135 children.