21 children die of hunger in Gaza within 72 hours

The head of Gaza's largest hospital on Tuesday said 21 children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days, amid a devastating assault by Israeli forces.

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Gaza's population of more than two million people is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed as they try to collect humanitarian aid at a handful of distribution points.

Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, said on Tuesday that “21 children have died due to malnutrition and famine” across various areas of the Gaza Strip, as the humanitarian catastrophe reaches unprecedented levels of hunger amid expanding Israeli military operations.

Abu Salmiya expressed grave concern, stating: “We are heading toward frightening numbers of deaths due to the starvation affecting Gaza's residents. 900,000 children in Gaza are suffering from hunger, and 70,000 of them have entered the stage of malnutrition.”

Meanwhile, Gaza's Civil Defense announced on Tuesday morning that 15 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes, just hours after the World Health Organization condemned the bombing of its headquarters and main warehouse in Deir al-Balah.