Gaza: Death toll from malnutrition, dehydration in devastated enclave increases to 25

At last 25 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition and dehydration in the Gaza Strip, the besieged and bombed territory's health ministry confirmed on Saturday, following the deaths of two more people.

The two victims, a female infant and a 20-year-old woman, died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and Al-Shifa Medical Complex, located in the centre of the enclave.

They are the latest Palestinians to die of malnutrition in the territory amid growing international calls for a ceasefire  which would allow for the entry of aid into the battered and blockaded Strip.

On Friday, it was reported that 20 people had died of starvation, including a 15-year-old and a 72-year-old man.

Following its statement, the Ministry said that the current death toll solely reflects cases being admitted to hospitals, with the number of those dead from malnutrition and dehydration expected to be much higher in Gaza due to a severe lack of food, water and other basic necessities of life.

"The increase in deaths from malnutrition and drought is very worrying, and confirms that the famine in northern Gaza has reached fatal levels," the ministry added.

Amid its brutal military onslaught of the enclave, Israel has imposed a complete siege on the territory, depriving 2.3 million Gazans of basic necessities.

Aid has trickled into the enclave sporadically, though in insufficient quantities, with hunger and thirst remaining widespread. Those who have remained in the northern part of the enclave are particularly impacted, as aid deliveries are becoming increasingly dangerous due to Israeli attacks.

Since October 7, Israel has carried out a deadly and indiscriminate military campaign in Gaza, killing 31,045 Palestinians as of Sunday, mostly women and children. Israel has been accused of carrying out war crimes and a genocide amid the extraordinarily high the high death toll, the targeting of schools, hospitals, and residential areas and the forced displacement of nearly all the territory's population.

Humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that Gaza is on "the brink of famine", with over half a million people living in famine-like conditions, while one in six children are suffering from "acute malnutrition and wasting".

Many Gazans are now frequently skipping meals. 

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Israeli government of using starvation as a "weapon of war", as Israel has razed agricultural land, and destroyed civilian installations necessary for food production and survival, such as bakeries.

Several children have died in recent days due to acute malnutrition and dehydration, notably, 10-year-old Yazan al-Kafarneh, whose emaciated appearance sent shockwaves across the world and showcased the reality of Gaza's famine-like conditions.

An elderly man, Abdulrahman al-Dahdouh, also died on Monday at the Al-Shifa Hospital after suffering from starvation.