UNITED NATIONS(National Times)- Amid reports of increased Israeli military attacks across Gaza City on Friday, UN aid agencies repeated urgent warnings of ongoing famine and a likely rise in preventable disease, linked to the dire living conditions in the war-shattered enclave. \u201cWe are on a descent into a massive famine,\u201d said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, \u201cand we need massive amounts of food getting into the Strip and safely distribute it across the Gaza Strip\u201d. Referring to the latest catastrophic assessment of food insecurity in Gaza from the UN-backed IPC group of experts, Laerke noted that 500,000 people are in the worst possible situation today, with another 160,000 expected to be added to that number in the coming weeks. \u201cThey all need food,\u201d he told reporters in Geneva. \u201cThe entire Gaza Strip needs food. There would not have been declared famine had there been sufficient amounts of food.\u201d Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry has recorded five deaths \u201cdue to famine and malnutrition\u201d in the past 24 hours, including two children, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 322, including 121 children. At least 67 Palestinians, including children and aid seekers, have been killed since dawn on Friday in Israeli attacks across Gaza, including several in the al-Mawasi area -\u2013 a so-called \u201chumanitarian zone\u201d designated by Israel \u2013 in the south. The number of people killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has now surpassed 63,000. In a related development, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the growing risk of communicable diseases in Gaza, with 94 suspected cases of Guillain-Barr\u00e9 Syndrome now reported. The disease can cause paralysis and is treatable in hospital with intravenous immunoglobulin or plasma exchange, according to WHO. \u201cBut these two [treatments] are at zero stock, as are anti-inflammatories,\u201d said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, referencing ongoing Israeli aid restrictions impacting humanitarian relief supplies entering Gaza. \u201cThese deliveries must be urgently expedited as much as surveillance and testing capabilities.\u201d Between 20 and 26 August, out of 89 attempts to coordinate relief missions with Israeli authorities across Gaza, 53 were facilitated, 23 were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, seven were denied and six had to be withdrawn by the organizers, OCHA said in an update.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS(National Times)- Amid reports of increased Israeli military attacks across Gaza City on Friday, UN aid agencies repeated urgent warnings of ongoing famine and a likely rise in preventable disease, linked to the dire living conditions in the war-shattered enclave. \u201cWe are on a descent into a massive famine,\u201d said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n