The World Health Organization said Thursday that 99 people were now known to have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip so far this year, with the figure likely an underestimate.
International outrage over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has ratcheted up pressure on Israel, with UN agencies warning of famine in the devastated Palestinian territory.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for scaled-up, sustained and unimpeded aid to be allowed to flow into Gaza, via all possible routes.
Gazans “have limited access to basic services, have faced repeated displacement and are now suffering from a blockade of food supplies”, Tedros told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“Malnutrition is widespread and hunger-related deaths are rising,” he said.
“In July, nearly 12,000 children under five years were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition — the highest monthly figure ever recorded.
“So far this year, 99 people have died from malnutrition, including 29 children under five. These reported numbers are likely underestimates,” he said.
The Israeli government is under mounting international and domestic pressure to end the war.
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© Agence France-Presse
