A PALESTINIAN teenager with no previous health conditions has starved to death in Gaza after being hospitalised, medical officials and relatives say, as people in the besieged enclave desperately struggle to find food amid Israel’s continued blockade on aid.
Atef Abu Khater, 17, died on Saturday, a source at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told Al Jazeera.
His weight had dropped from 70kg (154lbs) to just 25kg (55lbs) when he died, his family said – roughly what a nine-year-old child should weigh.
“We hear from his family members and others who knew him that he used to be a local sports champion. He ended up losing a lot of weight, becoming acutely malnourished, and ultimately dying,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Gaza City.
“He was one of thousands of severe malnutrition cases throughout Gaza.”
Footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera showed Abu Khater’s relatives saying goodbye. In it, the boy’s emaciated body could be seen in an open white body bag, his face turned away from the camera.
His cheekbones protruded in the absence of any fat, giving him a gaunt appearance. A relative could be seen running his finger along each bone on the boy’s ribcage, which is clearly visible due to malnutrition.
Journalist Wisam Shabat, who posted the video on his Instagram account, said Abu Khater arrived at the hospital in a very critical condition, suffering from severe complications due to lack of food and medical care, before he passed away.
The 17-year-old is among at least seven Palestinians who have died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours across Gaza, the director of al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera.
At least 169 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the territory since Israel’s war began in October 2023, according to the latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.
UN and other humanitarian officials say Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries, though partially lifted in recent days, have left Palestinians starving and struggling to find enough food to feed their families.
Amid growing international condemnation of the crisis, Israel has said it is increasing aid deliveries to Palestinians, including via airdrops.
But humanitarian groups say airdrops are dangerous and inefficient, and they have called on Israel to open up all the crossings into Gaza to allow assistance to flow freely to Palestinians in need.
