Gaza children protest against Israeli total siege for food, water

Dozens of Palestinian children in Gaza City in the northern part of Gaza have rallied to protest the scarcity of food and water under the Israeli total siege.

The children marched on Tuesday in the streets of Gaza City holding banners with some written on them "bread becomes my dream" and "we want food," among others.

Holding empty pots during the rally as an expression of lack of food, they chanted to demand a decent life.

"We die from hunger, we have nothing to eat, we are forced to eat animal food," 10-year-old Ayat Ashour told Anadolu.

"Food has become unaffordable, we want to live, we want (food) aid. ... The people in northern Gaza find nothing to eat, there is no milk for children," she added.

Another child, Omar al Shenbari, 14, said: "We are marching to raise our voice to the world that we want flour to eat, there is no food or water (in Gaza)."

"We eat one insufficient meal a day, mainly consists of water and (tomato) paste," Omar also said.

He concluded by sending a message to the world, saying: "We are experiencing difficult situations. The Arab countries and the entire world must stand with us."

Malnutrition exceeds critical threshold

On Tuesday, the UN’s World Food Program announced that it halted food distribution in northern Gaza until safety conditions improve.

According to several UN agencies, acute malnutrition has reached unprecedented levels among Palestinian children aged 4-6.

Overall, acute malnutrition in Gaza reached 16.2%, a rate that exceeds the critical threshold set by the World Health Organization at 15%.

Despite the provisional ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel continues its onslaught on Gaza where over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 69,000 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel has pounded Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICJ. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.