Today in Gaza, a catastrophic malnutrition crisis has resulted in thousands of children being nutritionally marasmic which places them subsisting in an emergency medical state. Among those dying daily is seven-month-old Mohammed Aliwa, whose weight is barely 4 kilograms (9 pounds). For the second time, Mohammed is back at a local hospital, treated for severe malnutrition. His condition is a reflection and reminder of the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the area.
The Khalidi family, which includes seven children—Sabah (12), Saba (11), Zeina (10), Ammera (2), Mohammed (7), and Yousef (13)—is emblematic of the suffering many families endure. The kids look skeletal, and their mother, Umm Youssef al-Khalidi, lays bare their suffering in depressing detail. She states, “My children have become skeletal, skin and bone.”
This caused an already dire humanitarian situation to greatly deteriorate as the protracted, violent conflict and widespread siege tighten. These challenges greatly hampered people’s access to food and medicine. Though Mohammed was born healthy, his mother’s malnutrition has left her unable to produce enough breast milk. Yet, aside from the two cans since the crisis began, that’s all the family has been able to get. On far too many days, they cannot go to sleep without at least one mouthful of food. Just yesterday, Umm Youssef was only able to afford one piece of pitta bread, which costs her 15 shekels (£3).
Conditions are so bad that, as a result, the Khalidi family has had to make do with whatever is available. They had a very hard challenge last week and went four days starving. Luckily, they persevered through a bag of rice and two potatoes given to them by a charitable stranger. “Even the slightest effort makes them dizzy. They sit down again, asking for food, and I have nothing to give. I can’t lie and say I’ll bring them something when I know I won’t be able to,” Umm Youssef lamented.
Faiza Abdul Rahman, another grandmother experiencing the tragic impact of malnutrition in Gaza, shared her fears too. “I don’t know what you would call it other than mass-starvation – and it’s man-made,” she said. Faiza described how her constant dizziness from starvation and terror at the thought of losing her grandson to starvation made it impossible to focus.
The health care system in Gaza has been tremendously affected by the impact of this crisis. Currently, only two operating pediatric teams are left in Gaza City, responsible for tackling the long line of malnourished children. As many as 200 children come to be treated each day for malnutrition and related diseases.
Dr. Musab Farwana, a pediatrician in one of the pediatric wards, explains how serious things have become. For almost 24 months, children in this place have suffered the wrath of famine. Some days, they felt enough. But feeling full isn’t the same as being healthy—the body requires high-quality nutrients as well. And those are completely absent,” he explained.
Over 100 aid organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children, and Oxfam, have issued stark warnings regarding the crisis. Or as others have noted, picture watching your colleagues and partners in advocacy go hungry themselves. “Humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,” they stated collectively.
And as the situation descends deeper into horror, families such as the Khalidis are forced to endure lives of ever-increasing hunger and deprivation. “We have been silencing our hunger with water,” Umm Youssef shared, reflecting the desperate measures many are forced to take.