A 13-year-old Palestinian boy from the Gaza Strip died of malnutrition and starvation on May 31, 2024 at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah due to the closure of the Rafah humanitarian corridor by Israeli forces.

  The closure of the Rafah Humanitarian Corridor by Israeli occupation forces resulted in the starvation death of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip on May 31, 2024. The humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged and closed Gaza Strip has worsened. According to a report by the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA), the child was Abdul Qader al-Sarhi, who died of starvation due to malnutrition at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Bara.

   According to medical sources in Rafah, the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in the Gaza Strip has risen to 37 as Israeli occupation forces continue their incursions in the southern city of Rafah. The dire health situation in the Gaza Strip has further worsened. Hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip were unable to provide necessary medical care due to the cessation of functions. Reflecting the number of returnees delivered to hospitals, dozens of people died of starvation, unable to reach hospitals.

  The Israeli military blockade of the Gaza Strip caused severe shortages of milk and medicine. Similarly, on May 30, 7-month-old Faiz Abu Ataya starved to death in central Gaza. While his father mourned the death of his child at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Faiz was carried by his father, his lifeless body flailing like a bare skeleton.

  Thousands of Palestinians lack access to food, water, and medicine as Israeli forces continue to close the Rafah border, which is vital for the transport of humanitarian aid, exacerbating the crisis. Rafah has been deprived of control of the humanitarian corridor from the Palestinian side since May 6, when Israeli forces expanded their incursion. Aid supplies have accumulated on the road connecting the Egyptian side of the border with the town of al-Arish, about 45 km west of Rafah. According to the UN, no vehicles have traveled through Rafah since May 5, and only a few vehicles have passed through the Karem Abu Salem crossing on the adjacent Israeli border.

Warning: Palestinian child Abdul Qader al-Sarhi's body at the morgue of al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, occupied Parestine, on May 31, 2024. (Social Media: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu)