Photo credit: the conversation
After facing an increasing level of international criticism, Israel has announced it would give access to convoys delivering food, and machine It would also allow air drops of aid.
SBS News reports that the country denies reports of starvation in Gaza. The World Health Organization and quite a few aid groups had warned of the consequences of mass starvation in Gaza.
Israel stopped supplies to the territories in March. They were opened in May, allowing fewer trucks than before the blockade. Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network described it as “a drop in the ocean” of what would be needed to feed Gaza’s population.
Experts said malnutrition could be felt for generations to come.
Professor Nina Siversten of Flinders University said children in Gaza are at the most severe risk of starvation.
Siversten, a nursing and family health lecturer, said: “They’re more likely to die, especially from common infections like diarrhoea and pneumonia because starvation already weakens their really fragile immune system.”
A baby’s brain is developing rapidly in the first thousand days of a baby’s life. Prolonged malnutrition can have catastrophic consequences on the process, including brain damage.
Metabolic and immune responses to starvation in childhood also lead to higher risks of developing chronic diseases in later life, including mental health issues such as schizophrenia.
She noted that although intensive medical care can help children recover from severe malnutrition, the widespread destruction of hospital infrastructure in Gaza means its medical system cannot support children’s recoveries from these acute states.
The professor is also concerned about how the damaging effects of this starvation will manifest in future generations of Gazans as it can affect how “genes are switched on ad off.”
The effects of malnutrition can be passed down through families, as was seen in children whose parents experienced the Dutch famine during World War Two known as the Hunger Winter.
Meanwhile, following global pressures from world leaders, the Israeli military has announced that humanitarian corridors will be open from 6am to 11pm to allow United Nations and aid organizations to deliver food and medicine to the population in Gaza.
Last week, over 100 humanitarian aid organizations, including Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, signed a joint statement sounding the alarm about mass starvation in Gaza
