At least 57 Palestinians dead from starvation amid Israeli blockade: Gaza government

At least 57 Palestinians have died from starvation since Oct. 7, 2023 due to Israel's ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Government Media Office in Gaza said Saturday.

“The number of victims of the starvation policy has risen to 57 martyrs and the toll is likely to increase amid the continued closure of crossings and the ban on the entry of food, infant formula, nutritional supplements, and dozens of essential medications,” warned the office in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, a medical source told Anadolu that a child had died from malnutrition and dehydration at Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza City.

The media office condemned Israel's use of food as a weapon of war, accusing it of imposing a suffocating siege on more than 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza by closing all border crossings for the 63rd consecutive day.

The majority of those who have died from starvation are children, elderly individuals, and patients with chronic illnesses, according to the office.

It also denounced “the international silence in the face of Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza,” urging the global community, humanitarian organizations, and rights groups to “take immediate action to open all border crossings and ensure the urgent entry of food and medicine before it is too late.”

Palestinian and UN officials have repeatedly warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis as Israel has kept Gaza's crossings closed since early March.

Nearly 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.