GENEVA: More than 10,000 children need treatment for acute malnutrition in Gaza City, where the Israeli army launched a major ground offensive on Tuesday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported.
“The forced and massive displacement of families from Gaza City is a deadly threat to the most vulnerable,” said Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokeswoman in southern Gaza’s Al-Mawasi zone.
Speaking to journalists at a televised UN press briefing in Geneva, Ingram warned of worsening rates of child malnutrition.
“We estimate that 26,000 children in the Gaza Strip currently require treatment for acute malnutrition, including more than 10,000 in Gaza City alone,” she said.
She explained that in August, more than one in eight children examined in the Gaza Strip suffered from acute malnutrition, “the highest level ever recorded.”
In Gaza City, that figure was one in five.
Nutrition centers in Gaza City have been “forced to shut this week due to evacuation orders and the military escalation,” Ingram added.
The Israeli army claims those evacuating southward to the Al-Masawi area will find food, tents, and medicine.
However, nearly two years into the war, Israel has frequently bombed so-called “humanitarian zones” in the Gaza Strip, claiming to target Hamas fighters there.
“It is inhumane to expect nearly half a million children, battered and traumatized by over 700 days of unrelenting conflict, to flee one hellscape to end up in another,” Ingram noted.
About 40 percent of the population of Gaza City and surrounding areas, estimated at one million by the UN, has been displaced, according to an Israeli military official.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the various parties.
Around 150,000 people have fled Gaza City to the south since August 14, Ingram said.
According to UNICEF’s team on the ground, people are still moving “inside and around” Gaza City, unable to seek refuge elsewhere.
The October 2023 attack by Hamas militants resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
UN says over 10,000 children with acute malnutrition in Gaza City
https://arab.news/n4p6y
UN says over 10,000 children with acute malnutrition in Gaza City
- Israel has frequently bombed so-called “humanitarian zones” in Gaza, claiming to target Hamas fighters there
- Around 150,000 people have fled Gaza City to the south since August 14, a UNICEF spokeswoman said
Iraqi lawmakers to elect president Tuesday, PM appointment next
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament will meet on Tuesday to elect the country’s new president, who will then appoint a prime minister expected to be Nouri Al-Maliki after he was endorsed by the largest Shiite bloc.
By convention, a Shiite Muslim holds the post of prime minister, the parliament speaker is Sunni and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.
Parliamentary speaker Haibat Al-Halbussi announced on Sunday that the new parliament will convene on Tuesday to elect a president, according to the official INA press agency.
The president will then have 15 days to appoint a prime minister, who is usually nominated by the largest Shiite bloc formed through post-election alliances.
On Saturday, the Coordination Framework alliance — whose Shiiite factions have varying links to Iran — endorsed former prime minister and powerbroker Al-Maliki as the country’s next premier.
The alliance, to which Al-Maliki belongs, spoke of his “political and administrative experience and his record in running the state.”
Kurdish parties have yet to agree on a presidential candidate, who must be endorsed by other blocs and win a two-thirds majority in parliament.
The presidency is usually held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). This year, the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) named its own candidate: Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Although Maliki’s endorsement effectively guarantees him the post, forming a new government remains a daunting challenge that could drag on for months and still fail.
The designated premier has one month to form a government and present it to parliament for a vote of confidence.
The 75-year-old Maliki, a shrewd politician, is set to return to power at a time of seismic changes in the Middle East, as Tehran’s regional influence wanes and tensions with Washington rise.
Government formation in Iraq must balance internal political dynamics and power-sharing among major parties, all under the continued influence of Iraq’s two main allies: Iran and the United States.
A close Iran ally, Al-Maliki will be expected to address Washington’s longstanding demand that Baghdad dismantle Tehran-backed factions, many of which are designated terrorist groups by the US.
Last month, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP that Washington demanded the eventual government exclude Iran-backed armed groups, even though most of them hold seats in parliament, and have seen their political and financial clout increase.
But Iraq is struggling with weak economic growth and cannot risk punitive measures by the US, which has already sanctioned several Iraqi entities, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
