Mothers in Gaza are suffering from their inability to breastfeed their children due to the malnutrition experienced by the population in the occupied Palestinian territories as a result of the Israeli war, according to an international NGO called ActionAid.
Interruptions to Humanitarian Aid
Israel has cut off essential humanitarian aid supplies to the besieged area and has continued to bomb the Gaza Strip, reducing it to rubble. The United Nations announced last week the “impossible situation” faced by Gazans due to the ongoing obstruction of supplies by the Israeli government.
Water Shortages
On average, there are 1.5 liters of water available per person in Gaza daily to meet all their needs, from drinking to bathing and cleaning, according to ActionAid estimates. However, a person needs 15 liters per day to survive.
Hunger
According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 71 percent of Gaza’s population is now suffering from severe hunger, while 98 percent of people do not have enough to eat. Pregnant and breastfeeding women and their young children have been significantly affected.
According to the latest UN data, there are more than 50,000 pregnant women and 68,000 breastfeeding women in Gaza in need of immediate nutritional interventions to preserve their lives and those of their children.
More than 7,685 children under five are suffering from wasting—making them vulnerable to developmental delays and diseases, and in severe cases, it can lead to death—while more than 4,000 children are classified as “severely wasted” and in need of life-saving treatment.
Mother’s Testimony
Khatam, a mother of five, including a newborn, currently in a school in Deir al-Balah, told ActionAid that she has nothing to feed her children. In a video message to the aid group, she said: “There is no water or food to eat. My little daughter has a rash due to the lack of hygiene here. Our situation is very difficult. How can I drink water? Is it enough for you and the baby? Of course not! There is no drinking water. There is no clean water. We are quenching our thirst with difficulty. I have four other children who want to eat since morning but there is no bread.”
She added: “When I was ordered to evacuate the houses… I had just given birth two days before. I was in a postpartum period and tired. I had just been discharged from the hospital and was bleeding after childbirth. I was carrying my daughter and running. We walked under the missiles and bombing, sitting briefly to rest on the sidewalk and in the streets.”
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), since October 7, 2023, up to 1.9 million people—over 85 percent of the population—have been displaced throughout the Gaza Strip, some several times.
People are lining up for hours hoping to receive food aid for their families, but either return empty-handed or with barely enough to survive.
ActionAid stated that there must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire to prevent “more unnecessary deaths and allow the massive amount of required food, fuel, medicine, and other humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.”
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