6-year-old boy dies of malnutrition in Gaza amid Israeli blockade

GAZA CITY, Palestine

A six-year-old Palestinian boy, Hikmat Raad Badir, died Monday of severe malnutrition caused by a crippling Israeli blockade in the central Gaza Strip, according to his uncle.

Ahmed Badir said his family had been displaced from northern Gaza to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

“We went there in the hope of getting the necessary medical care and essential nourishment for Hikmat,” he told Anadolu.

“Unfortunately, here too, there are no suitable foods for children or even treatment, so his health deteriorated.

“It’s not only children who suffer from malnutrition, but adults too amid harsh living conditions due to the Israeli war,” he added.

Last month, Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, announced the tragic deaths of four children due to severe malnutrition.

Abu Safiya revealed that the hospital had witnessed over 250 cases of malnutrition among children within just two weeks.

“Gaza faces a genuine health catastrophe, one that begins with children but could ultimately affect adults as well,” he warned.

The situation in Gaza remains dire, with the healthcare system crumbling amid relentless Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul