Gaza, MINA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for the immediate and full opening of all entry points for food aid into the Gaza Strip. This plea comes as the nutritional status of children in the territory deteriorates following the two-year-long war.
“The situation is extremely critical. We face the risk of a massive surge in child deaths—not just newborns, but also toddlers—because their immune systems are now much weaker than before,” stated Ricardo Pires, a UNICEF spokesperson, on his X account on Friday, October 11.
Pires added that many children in Gaza have gone without nutritious food for a long time. The continuous food shortage makes them increasingly vulnerable to disease and premature death.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces reportedly began withdrawing from several areas of Gaza on Friday, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement initiated by US President Donald Trump.
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Under this agreement, the United Nations is developing a comprehensive plan to expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid to the severely food-insecure region.
According to coordination between the Israeli military agency, COGAT, and the World Food Program (WFP), approximately 600 aid trucks are planned to enter Gaza daily for the first 60 days of the ceasefire period.
“There will be more than 145 community distribution points, 30 bakeries, and all our nutrition centers will be operational again,” WFP Emergency Director Ross Smith told Reuters.
WFP aims to begin increasing aid deliveries early next week, provided that Israeli forces fully withdraw from civilian areas so that humanitarian safe zones can be expanded.
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Since the large-scale Israeli offensive on Gaza two years ago, the region’s food and health systems have all but collapsed.
The blockade and restrictions on aid distribution have left millions of residents, especially children, facing the threat of acute starvation. A UN report states that more than 80 percent of Gaza’s children now live with malnutrition, making the humanitarian crisis in the territory one of the worst in the world.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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