Gaza's ailing children desperately waiting for help' despite ceasefire

"Continued Israeli restrictions still choking the flow of aid especially to the neediest patients in hospitals in Gaza. Days after the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged territory remains heavily restricted, denying many residents, particularly ailing children, the life-saving help they acutely need. As of Thursday, fewer than 300 trucks are entering Gaza, instead of the 600 trucks necessary to deliver humanitarian aid."

"And of the 300 trucks being allowed to enter daily, Al Jazeera has learned that many carry commercial products instead of humanitarian aid. list of 3 itemsend of list Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said: Children don't have anything. They need clothes, shoes, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and nothing is going to be delivered to the population until they have good stock in the warehouses, so that's why we're not seeing any distributions happening on the ground now."

"At the Patient's Friends Benevolent Society (PFBS) hospital in Gaza City, doctors describe the situation of some malnourished children as desperate, with the medical facility running out of medicine and food, as well as fuel to keep the facility functioning. We are still waiting for the medical and other humanitarian aid to reach our hospital, Dr Musab Farwana, a paediatrician, told Al Jazeera."

Israeli restrictions and limited convoy entries are severely reducing humanitarian aid into Gaza, delivering fewer than 300 trucks daily instead of the needed 600. Many of the trucks carry commercial goods rather than humanitarian supplies, which remain unavailable to cash-poor residents because banks are closed and markets require payment. Hospitals and clinics face critical shortages of medicine, food and fuel, causing malnutrition and desperation among children. Medical staff and parents report that lifesaving aid has not reached facilities or families, and distributions cannot begin until warehouses are adequately stocked. Immediate increases in humanitarian truck entries and prioritization of medical and child nutrition supplies are required to prevent further deaths.

Read at www.aljazeera.com