Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – The conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate, with the Israeli military engaging in an ongoing bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip for over four months. The deadly nature of the conflict has resulted in the deadliest casualties between the two sides since Israel’s establishment in 1948. Despite a brief cease-fire that led to the release of over 100 hostages from Gaza, the situation remains volatile.
On Feb 20, the World Health Organization announced that it had successfully facilitated the transfer of 32 critically ill patients, including two children, from the besieged Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. This was a high-risk operation carried out amid ongoing hostilities and access restrictions. The hospital had become non-functional following an Israeli military raid and week-long siege, leaving it without electricity, running water, or proper medical waste disposal. The WHO estimates that 130 sick and injured patients, as well as 15 doctors and nurses, remain inside the hospital, and further disruption of vital medical care could lead to more deaths.
A new analysis by the Global Nutrition Cluster revealed alarming statistics about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The report found that 90% of children under the age of 2 in Gaza are facing severe food poverty, along with 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women. Additionally, over 80% of homes in Gaza lack clean and safe water, and the average household has only one liter of water per person per day. This dire situation has led aid groups to warn of a potential “explosion in preventable child deaths” if the conflict persists.
The southern Gaza city of Rafah has been particularly hard-hit, with 5% of children under 2 experiencing acute malnutrition, compared to over 15% in northern Gaza. Before the conflict, the acute malnutrition rate across the enclave was less than 1%. UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations, Ted Chaiban, warned that if the conflict continues, children’s nutrition will deteriorate further, leading to preventable deaths and long-term health issues with potential intergenerational consequences.
The main medical center in southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital, has been at the center of the conflict, with Israeli troops allegedly turning it into a “military barracks.” The hospital’s functionality has been severely compromised, leaving patients and medical staff without basic necessities for treatment. The WHO has evacuated some critical patients, but many remain in dire conditions inside the hospital.
As the conflict rages on, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, and the lives of innocent civilians, especially children and vulnerable populations, hang in the balance. The international community is urged to step in and mitigate the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip.