Children face starvation in Gaza as Israel's blockade of food, medication reaches 2 months

Sara Jabakhanji · CBC News

· Posted: May 04, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

WARNING: This communicative contains images of severely malnourished children.

Mona Al-Raqab glances astatine a photograph of her son, a once-healthy preschooler, from before the warfare successful Gaza. Now five, helium lies successful a infirmary furniture emaciated with his ribcage and bones protruding.

"The past clip helium ate nutrient was the archetypal time of Ramadan [Feb. 28]," Mona told CBC News connected April 25 from Nasser Hospital successful the confederate Gaza metropolis of Khan Younis.

"And aft that, it conscionable wasn't affordable. Now, mundane his information is worsening."

Osama suffers from terrible malnutrition and malabsorption and causes trouble successful the digestion oregon absorption of nutrients from food. Gaza's Health Ministry says astir 60,000 children are presently showing signs of malnutrition amid the renewed bombardment and Israeli-imposed blockade connected goods entering the besieged Palestinian territory.

He weighs astir 20 pounds, astir 13 pounds little than what doctors accidental his existent value should be, Mona said. The toll of the full blockade, which has been successful spot since March 2, has importantly worsened his condition. 

Osama, lying successful furniture frail and weak, pleads with his mother: "I privation to leave."

For 2 months now, Israel has blocked the introduction of medical, substance and nutrient supplies into the war-torn territory — the longest specified closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced. Aid organizations, including the Red Cross, person since sounded the alarm, saying the humanitarian effect successful Gaza was connected the verge of "total collapse."

The United Nations' bureau for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has besides warned of acute malnutrition worsening among children successful Gaza.

'I fearfulness for my son's life'

Because of malnutrition passim the warfare successful Gaza, Osama requires a high-protein fare and peculiar medication, his parent said, that helium has not had entree to owed to the blockade. Before the blockade, Mona said she would beryllium capable to provender her lad tiny portions of eggs, avocado, nuts and chicken. But aft March 2, she said prices of nutrient became exorbitant and unaffordable, earlier nutrient supplies further depleted.

"I fearfulness for my son's life," she said, urging planetary groups to property for an contiguous evacuation for Osama to question aesculapian treatment. 

WATCH | Mother of 5-year-old boy calls connected evacuation of lad for aesculapian treatment: 

Hani Al-Fleet, caput of the pediatric section astatine Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, said the infirmary is treating a important magnitude of malnutrition cases successful babies aged 1 twelvemonth oregon under.

"The worst is coming successful my sentiment due to the fact that long-standing malnutrition volition pb to starvation and starvation attraction is overmuch much hard to treat," Al-Fleet told CBC News connected April 26.

Mahmoud Taleb Al-Kahlout says his six-month-old girl Ghazal is suffering owed to the deficiency of attraction successful the territory. 

In summation to showing signs of malnutrition, helium says his daughter, who suffers from encephalon atrophy and was calved with a spread successful her bosom known arsenic ventricular septal defect, weighed conscionable 4 pounds erstwhile she was born. Now, she weighs adjacent to 7 pounds, severely beneath the mean value for girls her property of astir 16 pounds.

"All of this successful summation to the closure of the crossings resulted successful terrible weakness successful [Ghazal]," helium told CBC News, adding that helium is urging the borders to unfastened to question aesculapian attraction for his daughter.

Some 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition successful children: UN

Last week, the Hamas-run Gaza authorities media bureau said that famine is nary longer a looming menace and is becoming a reality, adding that 52 people, including 50 children, person died owed to hunger and malnutrition since the blockade was imposed.

In a study Monday, the UN'S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it has identified astir 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children person been identified crossed Gaza, including 1,600 cases of terrible acute malnutrition, since the commencement of 2025.

Israel claims its determination to artifact the supplies was aimed astatine pressuring Hamas to escaped hostages arsenic the ceasefire statement stalled. Hamas has said it is willing to merchandise each remaining hostages successful speech for Palestinians jailed successful Israel and for an extremity to the warfare successful Gaza, but has rejected an interim truce.

Deputy Director General Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization Emergencies Programme said the existent level of malnutrition successful Gaza is "causing a illness successful immunity."

"We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza. We are complicit," helium told reporters astatine the WHO's office Thursday.

"As a doc I americium angry. It is an abomination," helium said.

People scavenging discarded to survive, says assistance worker

Israel has antecedently denied that Gaza is facing a hunger situation and says determination is inactive capable assistance to prolong the colonisation but residents and assistance groups saying nutrient that was stockpiled during the ceasefire that began connected Jan. 19 has each but tally out.

On Friday, Olga Cherevko, an OCHA assistance idiosyncratic successful Gaza City, said nutrient stocks person chiefly tally retired and entree to h2o for Gaza's astir 2.3 cardinal colonisation has go "impossible."

She said bare radical were scavenging successful mounds of discarded for "anything that would assistance them survive."

"I americium seeing children and I'm seeing aged radical rummaging done these piles of trash, not lone successful hunt of things to burn, but besides things to devour daily," she said.

Conditions successful the enclave person lone worsened successful caller months, though waves of hunger and famine conditions successful Gaza person been reported passim the 19-month-old war. Aid deliveries person been restricted since Oct. 7, 2023, leaving overmuch of the colonisation susceptible to hunger and malnutrition.

Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel that day, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is inactive holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to beryllium alive.

More than 1,600 Palestinians person been killed since Israel resumed its battle connected Gaza connected March 18.

Israel has killed much than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, successful its violative connected Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry.