The Children Starve First

[Municipal]

I wanted to open a space to reflect on something that’s been haunting me.

I've noticed in reports from Gaza that children are dying of starvation at shocking rates — even more than adults. At first I wondered how this could be, given that children need less food than adults. But I’ve since learned that children are actually the first to die in famine situations.

Here’s why:

• Children have smaller bodies but higher nutritional needs per kilogram, especially during growth spurts. They need regular, balanced intake to maintain development.
• Malnutrition hits them faster — their energy stores are smaller, and their bodies have less ability to adapt to a lack of nutrients.
• Their immune systems weaken rapidly, making them far more likely to die from diseases that an adult body might fight off.
• Infants and toddlers can’t chew tougher emergency rations or go without water as long, and breastfed babies suffer if their mothers are dehydrated or malnourished.
• The UN says that in every famine, the first to die are the smallest and weakest.

The stories of babies dying in their mothers’ arms — not from bombs or bullets but from hunger — are unbearable. I can’t stop thinking about the terror and anguish these parents must feel. How helpless it must be to watch your child fade away slowly, knowing you have nothing left to give them.

I know we talk about current events, about war, politics, sides — but surely, we can unite around this: no child should starve to death in their mother’s arms.

Most reasonable people have but the crucial players seem to be moving further and further from that point.

I saw a doctor on the news yesterday who says she sees children who she thinks are seven who turn out to be twelve or thirteen - that’s how stunted their growth has been from malnutrition.

Nothing heals the way it should meaning they are more likely to die when they would have lived here.

Children are not only dying from malnutrition and now starvation, they are also being hideously burned by third degree burns and dismembered, and existing in agony with no relief.

I reckon these children are seen as future terrorists anyway so likely it's on purpose.

On another note the 11% who voted YABU are absolutely disgusting.

The primary reason children die first in hunger crisis and famines is because an adult a last 40 days without food while a baby can last only about a week.

It’s as simple as that. The youngest will die first. Babies born to malnourished mothers are already malnourished at birth so their chances are already poor.

Rather than wringing your hands and saying “why don’t they do something” perhaps it’s time to write to your MP and/or to the prime minister and say you would like decisive action to be taken stop Israel from continuing blocking aid and killing Palestinians. Shout it on every platform you can.

Yes. And I recall that he was going to have a hearing on 18th March as well. We all know what happened instead.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-testimony-in-graft-trial-canceled-for-the-day-amid-shock-gaza-offensive/

I have written to my MP, I'm not sure if it has made much of a difference. I wish I could make a difference somehow. There must be more that we can do but what?

Any of the 10 % care to justify their support of using starvation as a weapon of genocide on children? Cause I'm really at a loss here. And don't bother with the " just realise the hostages" line , as if toddlers are in control of that!

You have completely misunderstood my post. I am not minimising the deaths or saying they cannot be laid at the door of this man-made famine. It was in response to the OP and why children are particularly vulnerable in this context. It was a purely factual post in response to a poster referring to child vulnerability. The impact of communicable disease, in conjunction with famine in this situation will be massive, and currently is rarely seriously mentioned. I have posted multiple times in support of the Gazan people and the appalling humanitarian sutuation they are facing.

According to unicef gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world. Just imagine not only losing a limb but then also having to deal with very little after care. It is just unimaginable how children can be made to suffer like this.

I have a nephew who has AFRID and I can’t even begin to think about children in Gaza that have special diets, allergies etc. They probably died a long time ago.

I’ve also written to my MP many times and I feel that they just reply with whatever the updated party line is. So replied yesterday after Lammy’s speech. But I don’t see them actually pressuring for anything.

I don't understand how anyone has voted that you are unreasonable.

I also feel the children in Yemen and South Sudan are being forgotten, but all of them are at greater risk than adults.

It's crazy, but I would like to have massive protests in Egypt outside Rafah. I live in Australia, but I am willing to fly all there myself and join them. I have no contacts in Egypt to help organise this and I don't know how harshly protests are suppressed there, but it's something I really want to do. 😢

The dehumanisation of the Palestinians was baked into the state of Israel from its creation. This is a feature, not a bug

Yes, it was only ever a matter of time.

I wrote to my MP, but she never even replied.

I believe Israel have gone rogue so to speak. Perhaps every country that sends them aid, weapons, whatever, should stop. It's the only leverage the world has now.

And absolutely no accountability for the Hamas leaders on this thread as usual, who could have stopped this war today, or even 18 months ago.

The 14,000 starving babies in 48 hours was a gross distortion of a UN IPC report which estimated that figure of child deaths COULD occur over the course of a YEAR if enough aid does not get in as clarified by the BBC.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk2264nrn2o.amp

Meanwhile Hamas leaders are currently directing their side of the war while sitting comfortably abroad with billions stashed away.

Why are there no calls for them to be apprehended? Why have ICC arrest warrants not be issued?

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syd4200lake#

Khalil Al-Hayya, the defacto leader of Hamas in Gaza made a statement in January highlighting that Hamas leaders are “at the forefront of the martyrs, standing side-by-side with their people in the same trenches, sharing their sacrifices and their blood.” He added that these leaders “offered their lives willingly for the sake of God, fighting alongside the soldiers, unafraid of death, engaging with the enemy on the front lines of resistance for the sake of a free and proud Palestine.”

Not him though as he’s apparently abroad.

He also affirmed that all these martyrs “left behind a generation raised on the teachings of the Quran and the battlefields of holy war and resistance, having the awareness, understanding, and determination to carry forward the mission and complete what the founding leaders, led by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, began.”

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/509297/Hamas-leader-Palestinians-humiliated-occupiers

Note the reference to the holy war and from that you can assume he means the original Hamas Charter stands.

Hamas doctrine attached:
www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas

Doesn’t look like they’re going to surrender anytime soon for the sake of their starving children.

I suppose most posters on here think Israel should, as the stronger force, as has never happened in any war in history.

Israeli far right supporters have been attempting to block the aid getting into Gaza.
There have been demonstrations whilst the aid trucks wait for access.

Its worth noting there are also left wing Israelis as well on counter protests.

here’s one of many reports

You have forgotten your humanity.

This thread isn’t “who is the bigger baddie?”, it is “children shouldn’t starve to death”. That is NOT a controversial thing to say.

If Israel wanted those children to not starve to death, they wouldn’t be.

Great response Seasonal

Is israel stopping food being sent in or are countries not providing the amount needed? I haven't seen much in the news about it in the past months

The Israeli Government is stopping the aid trucks from entering

just google. There’s loads of info online. Even on wiki