66 children die of starvation as Gaza reels under Israel’s aid blockade

At least 66 children have died of starvation in Gaza since Israel began blocking vital aid to the besieged city in 2023.

Gaza’s Government Media Office on Saturday said that three children died of malnutrition.

The government blamed Israel for the deaths, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refusing to acknowledge famine-like conditions in Gaza.

The UN agency for children, UNICEF, warned that the number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip was rising at an “alarming rate”.

It said that at least 5,119 children, between 6 months and 5 years of age, were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone.

This comes at a time when Israel stopped aid from entering northern Gaza, claiming that Hamas was hijacking vital supplies for Palestinians.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said that aid would continue to enter from the south, but did not specify whether any supplies would enter the north.

A US- and Israel-backed private organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has set up food distribution points in southern and central Gaza, but they have been out of reach for most of the million people estimated to be in the north.

Moreover, there have been reports of Israeli troops firing at unarmed Palestinians reaching these food distribution centres.

More than 410 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed as a result. The dire conditions in Gaza have prompted calls for an immediate ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said on Truth Social that Netanyahu was in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas "right now".

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