Palestinian infant Mohammed Zakaria Asfour passed away on Thursday at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, due to severe malnutrition caused by Israel’s systematic starvation campaign and the lack of treatment and humanitarian access amid the ongoing genocide waged by Tel Aviv for the past 22 months.
اضافة اعلان
A medical source told Anadolu Agency that Mohammed, who was one year and four months old, died as a result of complications related to starvation. Hospitals are unable to provide necessary care due to a critical shortage of food and medicine.
Social media users circulated heartbreaking videos showing the child lying on a hospital bed, visibly weak, with his rib bones protruding—a stark image of famine.
Such deaths—especially among infants—are becoming tragically common due to the continued blockade on Gaza, Israel’s deliberate starvation policy, the prevention of humanitarian and food aid, and the acute shortages of essential supplies.
Starvation has worsened in Gaza, and the death toll from malnutrition has risen to 193 since October 2023, including 96 children, according to figures released Wednesday by the Ministry of Health.
UN agencies and local organizations warn that the ongoing blockade and obstruction of aid delivery could soon result in mass child fatalities, especially as health and living conditions continue to deteriorate and the medical system collapses entirely.
Despite the buildup of aid trucks at Gaza’s entry points, Israel continues to block their entry or severely limits distribution, insisting on bypassing UN oversight and allowing in only a trickle of supplies that UN reports say amount to “a drop in the ocean.”
Since March 2, Israel has avoided implementing a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas and has shut Gaza’s crossings to the aid trucks now stranded at the borders.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel—with U.S. support—has waged a campaign of genocide in Gaza involving killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, while ignoring international appeals and defying International Court of Justice orders to halt its actions.
The genocide has resulted in 61,158 Palestinian deaths, 151,442 injuries—mostly among women and children—and over 9,000 people reported missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has claimed the lives of many.
—(Anadolu)
