Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital Warns of Food Crisis Threatening Patients’ Lives

The head of the nutrition department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Mohammed Kahil, warned on Sunday of the escalating food crisis in the hospital and its direct impact on patients’ lives, noting that more than 800 malnutrition cases have been recorded, including three critical cases and 13 cases directly threatened with death.

Kahil explained in a press statement that the complete depletion of intravenous and tube nutrition increases the health risks for postoperative patients and particularly affects children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

He indicated that more than 110 children suffer from malnutrition, while one-third of newborns are born weighing less than 2.5 kg.

He added that pregnant and breastfeeding women face anemia and severe deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight.

He also confirmed that the elderly and patients with kidney failure and strokes need special dietary systems that are unavailable, while the absence of animal proteins, fresh vegetables, and fruits exacerbates the health crisis, and reliance on canned foods delays the healing process.

Kahil stated that the situation poses a real threat to patients’ lives, calling on relevant authorities and the international community to urgently intervene to provide basic food needs and save the lives of those in need