In the past 24 hours, fifteen more people, including four children, died from starvation and malnutrition in the war-torn Gaza Strip, health authorities said on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Gaza’s health authorities said the deaths were recorded in hospitals across Gaza, raising the total number of fatalities linked to hunger and malnutrition to 101, including 80 children, since March.

“The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing Israeli blockade,” the health authorities added, stressing that a large number of civilians, particularly children, are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on social media platform X on Tuesday that People in Gaza, “including UNRWA colleagues, are fainting due to severe hunger. They are being starved.”

“Meanwhile, just a few kilometres away from Gaza, supermarkets and shops are loaded with food and other goods. Lift the siege, allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicines,” UNRWA said.

The Israeli Medical Association (IMA), which represents about 95 per cent of doctors in Israel, issued a statement calling for the entry of medical equipment and basic humanitarian aid into the Strip.

In a letter addressed to Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir, IMA Chairman Zion Hagay wrote that such deliveries are “required by both medical ethics and morality, as well as international humanitarian law.”

He added that if recent reports about the deaths of at least 73 people while waiting for humanitarian aid prove accurate, it would represent a serious violation of medical ethics and international law.

Since Israel resumed its military operations in the enclave on March 18, at least 8,268 Palestinians have been killed and 30,470 others injured.

This brings the total death toll since October 2023 to 59,106, and injuries to 142,511, Gaza’s health authorities said.

(Xinhua/NAN)