‘From bad to worse’: Gaza hospital faces surge in child hunger deaths
The Patient’s Friends Hospital in northern Gaza is overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of severely malnourished children, many arriving too weak to cry or move. Five children died last weekend, marking the first deaths at the centre in patients without preexisting conditions. Dr. Rana Soboh, a nutritionist with MedGlobal, said children are no longer improving and are staying longer. “It’s gone from bad to worse,” he said. At least 48 deaths linked to malnutrition were recorded this month, including 20 children. Supplies are dwindling, and children no longer improve; some nurses rely on IV drips to function. In Shati camp, two-year-old Yazan lies limp; his family survives on boiled eggplant water. Israel blames Hamas for aid disruptions, but the U.N. says food and medicine access remains dangerously limited under Israel’s blockade. They warn that famine is escalating rapidly.
