ISTANBUL

More than 100 children have died of malnutrition and hunger in the besieged Gaza Strip amid a choking Israeli siege on the enclave, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday.

“At least 100 children die of malnutrition and hunger,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

He said the deaths from hunger add to more than 40,000 children killed or wounded by Israeli airstrikes and shelling since October 2023.

Lazzarini said at least 17,000 children in Gaza are “unaccompanied and separated,” and 1 million are deeply traumatized and out of education.

“Children are children,” he said. “No one should stay silent when children die, or are brutally deprived of a future, wherever these children are, including in Gaza.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that eight more people, including three children, died in the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition. This brings the total death toll from starvation to 235, including 106 children, as the humanitarian crisis in the enclave deepens.

Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings shut since March 2, blocking nearly all humanitarian aid and pushing the territory into famine, despite hundreds of aid trucks stranded at its borders. Limited deliveries permitted have fallen far short of the needs of the starving population.

Gaza requires around 600 aid trucks and 50 fuel trucks daily to meet the minimum humanitarian needs of its population.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 61,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.