Nearly 2,90,000 children in Gaza on the brink of death amid Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid

More than 3,500 children below the age of five years "face imminent death by starvation" while some 70,000 children have been hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel has blocked the entry of crucial aid into the territory.

Mona al-Raqab cares for her son Osama, 5, which she says his cystic fibrosis has worsened since the start of the war due to the lack of meat, fish and enzyme tablets to help him digest food, at a malnutrition clinic in Nasser hospital, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo| AP)

Nearly 2,90,000 children in Gaza are on the brink of death amid Israel's two-month-long blockade of humanitarian aid into the territory, said Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) on Sunday.

According to GMO, more than 3,500 children below the age of five years "face imminent death by starvation" while some 70,000 children have been hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel has blocked the entry of crucial aid, including food, water, medicines and fuel, into the war ravaged territory.

“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the GMO said in a statement on Sunday.

“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.

At least 57 Palestinians have so far starved to death in Gaza, causing international outrage against Israel's alleged weaponisation of starvation, which amounts to a war crime.

Osama's cystic fibrosis has worsened since the start of the war due to the lack of meat, fish and enzyme tablets to help him digest food.(Photo| AP)

Meanwhile, Israel Cabinet on Monday approved plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time.

The new plan, if implemented, would push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, which would likely exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis.

The plan would also seek to prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from distributing the much-needed humanitarian aid, which Israel claims strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.

Since Israel broke a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds. Before breaking the truce, Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, fuel and water, setting off what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly 19 months of the genocidal war.

Meanwhile, armed groups were reported as looting aid warehouses in Gaza, while Israeli drones and aircraft flew over.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Israel has also killed aid workers, healthcare workers and journalists in targeted attacks. More than 200 journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023.