Children face starvation in Gaza as Israel's blockade of food, medication reaches 2 months

WARNING: This story contains images of severely malnourished children.

Mona Al-Raqab glances at a photo of her son, a once-healthy preschooler, from before the war in Gaza. Now five, he lies in a hospital bed emaciated, with his ribcage and bones protruding.

"The last time he ate meat was the first day of Ramadan [Feb. 28]," Mona told CBC News on April 25 from Nasser Hospital, in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

"And after that, it just wasn't affordable. Now, everyday his condition is worsening."

Osama suffers from severe malnutrition and malabsorption, which causes difficulty in the digestion or absorption of nutrients from food. Gaza's Health Ministry says roughly 60,000 children are currently showing signs of malnutrition amid the renewed bombardment and Israeli-imposed blockade on goods entering the besieged Palestinian territory.

He weighs about 20 pounds, roughly 13 pounds less than what doctors say his weight should be, Mona said. The toll of the total blockade, which has been in place since March 2, has significantly worsened his condition. 

Osama, lying in bed frail and weak, pleads with his mother: "I want to leave."

For two months now, Israel has blocked the entry of medical, fuel and food supplies into the war-torn territory — the longest such closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced. Aid organizations, including the Red Cross, have since sounded the alarm, saying the humanitarian response in Gaza was on the verge of "total collapse."

The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also warned of acute malnutrition worsening among children in Gaza.

Because of malnutrition throughout the war in Gaza, Osama requires a high-protein diet and special medication, his mother said, adding that he has not had access to due to the blockade. Before the blockade, Mona said she would be able to feed her son small portions of eggs, avocado, nuts and chicken. But after March 2, she said prices of food became exorbitant and unaffordable, before food supplies further depleted.

"I fear for my son's life," she said, urging international groups to press for an immediate evacuation for Osama to seek medical treatment. 

Hani Al-Fleet, head of the pediatric department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, said the hospital is treating a significant amount of malnutrition cases in babies aged one year or under.

"The worst is coming, in my opinion, because long-standing malnutrition will lead to starvation and starvation treatment is much more difficult to treat," Al-Fleet told CBC News on April 26.

Mahmoud Taleb Al-Kahlout says his six-month-old daughter, Ghazal, is suffering due to the lack of treatment in the territory.