Dr Unni Krishnan: Giving Gaza’s children a last chance

Catastrophic levels of Israeli-enforced hunger mean it is now absolutely critical that humanitarian aid reaches malnourished children and pregnant women

A father mourns over the bodies of his two daughters who were killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza last week. The number of children killed has surpassed that of all children killed by conflict worldwide in the last four years. Photo: AP/Fatima Shbair

In the bombed-out desolation of northern Gaza, famine is a clear and present risk. In mid-March, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC — a body that includes UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization), painted a chilling picture: “Famine is imminent as 1.1 million people, that is half of Gaza's population, are facing catastrophic food insecurity.” 

In simple terms, starving.