The agency says many are suffering from malnutrition and do not ‘even have the energy to cry’
by Dave DeCamp, Antiwar. com, March 17, 2024
The UNβs child relief agency said on Sunday that over 13,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip and that many more could be dead under the rubble.
βThousands more have been injured, or we canβt even determine where they are. They may be stuck under rubble,β said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, according to Reuters. βWe havenβt seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world.β
Gazaβs Health Ministry has said over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and has consistently stated that around 70% of the casualties are women and children.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin previously said over 25,000 women and children had been killed in Gaza, but the Pentagon walked his comment back, claiming he was talking about all Palestinians killed.
Russel said that she visited a hospital ward where children were suffering from severe malnutrition and said the place was quiet because βthe children, the babies β¦ donβt even have the energy to cry.β
Separately, the UNβs Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, said one in three children under the age of two in Gaza is now acutely malnourished. βChildrenβs malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,β UNRWA said. Children have already started to starve to death in Gaza, with dozens of malnutrition deaths already reported.
Despite the horrific situation and Israelβs continued restrictions on aid, the US is still providing unconditional military aid to support the slaughter and starvation campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza.
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