The humanitarian crisis in Gaza without aid for two consecutive months is shocking

Israel has completely cut off humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip since mid-March and it has now entered the third month. UN agencies and international aid workers have warned that Gaza is plunged into a severe humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of children at risk of malnutrition and the medical system on the verge of collapse.

ABC reported that according to information provided by organizations such as UNICEF and Medecins Sans Frontieres, due to the long-term inability of water, food, vaccines and essential medicines to enter the Gaza Strip, a series of humanitarian crises have emerged in the area, including malnutrition, infectious diseases and the spread of trauma infections. Rescue workers pointed out that several community kitchens have already been closed due to running out of raw materials. If the lockdown continues, the situation may get out of control.

The Israeli side said that this round of blockade was aimed at pressuring Hamas to release the 59 hostages still detained and accept the proposal to extend the first-phase ceasefire agreement. The Israeli side insists that although the border crossing is closed, the authorities still allow some humanitarian workers to enter Gaza. But according to multiple aid workers, the situation on the front line is far more serious than announced.

The nutritional status of children has become one of the most prominent problems. Jonathan Crickx, the representative of UNICEF in Palestine, said that a large number of children in southern Gaza have suffered from acute and severe malnutrition. When he was visiting Nasser Hospital, he met a four-year-old boy who weighed only eight kilograms, far below the normal standard.

The malfunction of the local community kitchen has further exacerbated the predicament. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Central Kitchen (WCK) have successively announced that they have stopped the supply of hot food in Gaza due to the exhaustion of food and fuel. WCK said that a large amount of its food, fuel and cooking equipment located on the Gaza border have been blocked since March and have not been accessible so far.

Aid organizations point out that even though material reserves are still several kilometers along the border, within Gaza, due to supply imbalance, soaring prices and tight cash, residents are almost unable to purchase food on their own. Some families can only rely on a can of food and bread to get by every day.

In addition to hunger, the risk of infectious diseases is also rising rapidly. The temporary camps were crowded and lacked clean water sources and hygiene products, causing diseases including diarrhea, scabies and head lice to spread rapidly. Studies estimate that among displaced children under the age of five alone, more than 55,000 have contracted scabies or head lice infections.

The disruption of vaccine supply has made the situation even worse. Aid workers pointed out that a variety of preventable diseases, including polio, measles and hepatitis A, have shown signs of spreading in Gaza. Due to the depletion of vaccine stocks, newborns and pregnant women have become the most vulnerable groups.

The medical system was also on the verge of collapse. Due to the continuous war, attackers, burned children and infected patients keep pouring in, but hospitals no longer have sufficient antibiotics, anesthetics or surgical instruments for treatment.

Rescue workers said that this was the first time they had to tell patients, "We often have to change wound dressings without painkillers," and these medicines "are trapped several kilometers away at the border."

The two sides of Israel and Kazakhstan briefly reached a ceasefire and released some hostages, but the fighting soon flared up again. The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that since March 18th, more than 500 children have died in the conflict and more than 1,250 others have been injured.