Four Gaza children starve to death over 24 hours in deepening hunger crisis

A six-week-old infant and three other children have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, local health officials said, with malnutrition and starvation now killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.

The infant died at a hospital ward in northern Gaza, the health officials said, naming him as Yousef al-Safadi. The teenager, 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The other two were not named.

Palestinian health officials say at least 101 people have died of hunger during the conflict, including 80 children, with most of them in recent weeks. In the past 24 hours, there have been 15 reported deaths.

Israel controls all aid supplies into the war-ravaged enclave, where most of the population has been displaced multiple times and faces acute shortages of basic necessities.

The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.

"No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry," UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance", and works to facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community.

It has denied accusations it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza and has accused Palestinian group Hamas of stealing food, an allegation Hamas denies. 

"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry.

Deqran said some 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.

Baby formula is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.

Israel says its assault on Gaza aims to destroy Hamas, which waged the deadliest attack in Israel's history on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,200 Israelis including civilians, by its tallies.

Israeli bombs and gunfire have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza since then, according to local health authorities.

Tank shelling killed another 16 people living in tents in Gaza City on Tuesday, as Israeli troops launched attacks across the strip, health officials said. The Israeli military said it wasn't aware of any incident, or artillery in the area at that time.

The health ministry said at least 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes in the past 24 hours.