Gaza, June 30: A Palestinian report says more than half of the children in the Gaza Strip suffer from malnutrition due to the ongoing Israeli siege of the impoverished region.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Association conducted the study on the situation of children in Gaza, saying that 52 percent of the young Palestinians suffer from malnutrition, and severe vitamin deficiency.
According to the study, a significant number of the children also suffer from infections in their respiratory systems, International Middle East Media Center reported.
The statement came during a ceremony marking the end of the first phase of a project meant to evaluate the psychological conditions of children in the Gaza Strip. The joint project is conducted with the cooperation of a humanitarian society in Italy.
It also said that the ongoing Israeli invasions, bombardment and attacks, especially in border areas, has a direct impact on the health and psychological conditions of Gaza children who are the main target of Israeli operations against the Hamas-led governmnet in the coastal enclave.
Close to 1,400 Palestinians — mostly women and children — died during Israel’s 22-day onslaught against the Gaza Strip at the turn of 2009.
Dozens of seriously ill patients are facing imminent death as medical centers in Gaza run out of medical supplies which Israeli authorities are refusing to allow into the territory.
Israel’s prolonged blockade on Gaza has inflcited seruios blows upon the economy of the territory where some 1.5 million Palestinians are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.
——-Agencies