Palestinian Territories – At least 86 people in Gaza, including 76 children and 10 adults, have died due to hunger and malnutrition following Israel’s blockade on the enclave, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry said the level of hunger and malnutrition in the enclave was leading to a ‘silent massacre’.

‘The Ministry of Health holds the [Israeli] occupation and the international community responsible. We demand the immediate opening of crossings to allow food and medicine in,’ the ministry said.

In the last 24 hours, 18 people died in Gaza due to famine, it found.

Systematic ethnic cleansing

Hamas said Israel’s actions across Gaza are ‘systematic ethnic cleansing in which killing, starvation and thirst are used as tools of genocide’.

In a statement, Hamas said the deaths of more than 70 children from malnutrition were a ‘stain on humanity’ and the silence from the international community was an “additional crime”.

‘Thousands of tonnes of aid are stuck behind the Rafah crossing as Gazans die of hunger, thirst, and disease. We hold the occupation and the US administration fully responsible for the massacres at aid points and the systematic killing mechanism in Gaza,’ the Palestinian group said.

Hamas called for an urgent investigation into the GHF at whose sites more than 900 people have been killed while seeking life-saving aid.