Palestinians run along a street as humanitarian aid is airdropped in Gaza City on March 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. - For months, aid workers have warned of an increasingly desperate situation for Gazan civilians, and on February 26 an official from the UN humanitarian office OCHA said widespread starvation was "almost inevitable". (Photo by AFP)
MANILA, Philippines – Nagbabala ang World Health Organization (WHO) na nasa panganib na mamatay ang mga bata sa Gaza dahil sa kakulangan ng pagkain.
“Grim findings during @WHO visits to Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern #Gaza: severe levels of malnutrition, children dying of starvation, serious shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, hospital buildings destroyed,” sabi ni WHO Director -Gneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sa kanyang X account noong Martes.
“The visits over the weekend were the first since early October 2023 despite our efforts to gain more regular access to the north of Gaza. The situation at Al-Awda Hospital is particularly appalling, as one of the buildings is destroyed,” dagdag pa niya.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in the north of Gaza and is overwhelmed with patients. The lack of food resulted in the deaths of 10 children. The lack of electricity poses a serious threat to patient care, especially in critical areas like the intensive care unit and the neonatal unit,” binigyan-diin ni Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“We managed to deliver 9,500 litres of fuel to each hospital, and some essential medical supplies. This is a fraction of the urgent lifesaving needs,”
“We appeal to Israel to ensure humanitarian aid can be delivered safely, and regularly. Civilians, especially children, and health staff need scaled-up help immediately. But the key medicine all these patients need is peace. Ceasefire,” sabi pa ni Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Noong Marso 3, muling binalaan ni Catherine Russell, ang executive director ng United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ang international community tungkol sa epekto ng digmaang Israeli sa mga bata sa Gaza, na nagsasabing sila ay dumaranas ng matinding malnutrisyon at nasa bingit ng kamatayan.
Nanawagan si Russell ng “pagtigil sa putukan ngayon”, at sinabi na “bawat minuto ay mahalaga” para sa mga bata sa Gaza na nahaharap sa “nakamamatay” na malnutrisyon.
Ayon pa kay Russell na kahit isang minutong pagkaantala sa pag-access ng mga batang Palestinian sa Gaza sa pagkain, tubig, pangangalagang medikal, at proteksyon mula sa mga bala at bomba ng Israel ay magkakaroon ng kakila-kilabot na mga kahihinatnan. (Jocelyn Tabangcura-Domenden)
