By Mohammad Majid
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – An elderly Palestinian died of malnutrition, and 17 children were hospitalized amid an Israeli siege and attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, a hospital director said on Wednesday.
“An elderly man died as a result of severe dehydration in northern Gaza,” Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said in a statement.
“Seventeen children showing symptoms of malnutrition were also transferred to the hospital,” he added.
Abu Safiya said there are 85 women and children currently hospitalized, with six of them at the hospital’s intensive care unit.
"The situation is catastrophic,” Abu Safiya said.
“No action was taken by any international group to open a humanitarian corridor to allow medical supplies, medics, and food and milk for children to help those suffering malnutrition,” he added.
Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent famine.
More than 2,000 people have since been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 44,000 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara