Baghdad: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Organization warned that the population of the Gaza Strip is facing a worsening crisis of hunger and malnutrition, amid a severe shortage of food supplies.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Organization stated in a statement that its field teams have observed a “sharp and unprecedented” rise in acute malnutrition rates among the population of the Strip. Two of its health centers in Gaza City and the coastal town of Al-Mawasi are currently treating more than 700 pregnant and breastfeeding women, along with approximately 500 children suffering from severe or moderate malnutrition.

The Organization indicated that the number of malnutrition cases at her center in Gaza City had nearly quadrupled in less than two months, rising from 293 cases last May to 983 cases at the beginning of July, including 326 cases in children between the ages of 6 and 23 months. She noted, “This is the first time we have witnessed such a large number of malnutrition cases in Gaza. The starvation of the population in Gaza is deliberate and could end tomorrow if the Israeli authorities allow sufficient quantities of food into the Strip.” She emphasized that “the humanitarian situation in the Strip now requires urgent intervention to ensure the delivery of food and medical aid to the civilian population, as the ongoing military operations exacerbate the suffering of the population, especially children and the most vulnerable groups.”