GAZA CITY, Palestine

The World Health Organization (WHO) transferred two sick children Saturday from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip to the Rafah border crossing in preparation for their transport to hospitals outside the enclave.

Fadi Al-Zannat, 9, and Nour Jarboa, 6, who are suffering from cancer and malnutrition, were transported via an ambulance belonging to the UN health agency.

“The evacuation (of the two children) took place after two months of issuing an urgent appeal to all international and humanitarian institutions, child rights organizations, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization,” Hossam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Anadolu. “For over two months, we have been pleading to relocate these children to a better-equipped facility.”

“Currently, we are facing shortages of medical supplies, food, and infant formula. These children are now suffering from severe malnutrition,” said the director. “Fortunately, there has been a response to transferring the children from the northern Gaza Strip, outside it.”

Abu Safia pointed out that “there are dozens of these children in Kamal Adwan Hospital, and if they are not provided with medical supplies and milk due to the shortage, we will lose more of them.”

Hospitals in northern Gaza, which have been subjected to a siege and extensive destruction from Israeli targeting, suffer from a shortage of medical equipment and medicine, exacerbating the situation amid the Israeli war.

According to the latest statistics from the Health Ministry in Gaza, the number of deaths from malnutrition and dehydration hit 27, including infants.​​​​​​​

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 32,100 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,400 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala