The head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, has issued a dire warning about the escalating nutrition crisis facing infants in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s ongoing blockade and military assault continue to choke off humanitarian aid.

In a statement posted Monday on X (formerly Twitter), Russell said: “Thousands of babies in Gaza lack proper nutrition as aid access remains severely hampered.” She described the situation as a life-or-death emergency, with infants facing starvation and irreversible health damage due to Israel’s relentless war and obstruction of aid delivery.

“Many mothers have been killed or are too malnourished to breastfeed, leaving infants at risk of dying or with permanent health damage,” she said. “Every minute counts in saving their lives.”

UNICEF’s urgent appeal comes as Gaza enters its tenth month under one of the most intense and sustained military sieges in modern history. Since Israel launched its war on the enclave in October 2023—following the events of October 7—more than 57,500 Palestinians, the majority women and children, have been killed, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Entire neighborhoods have been obliterated, hospitals bombed, and food and water supplies deliberately restricted—creating a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering proportions. Aid convoys remain stalled or limited in access due to Israeli restrictions, despite mounting global pressure and warnings of famine.

Human rights organizations and U.N. agencies have repeatedly condemned the weaponization of hunger and Israel’s targeting of vital civilian infrastructure. But as Catherine Russell’s statement underscores, the most vulnerable—infants and their mothers—are suffering the gravest consequences.

While international actors continue to push for a ceasefire, many Palestinians and human rights advocates question whether these efforts are genuine or merely delay tactics to prolong the war and avoid accountability.

The Israeli government faces mounting legal challenges. In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza campaign.

In parallel, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently hearing a genocide case brought against Israel, examining whether its actions in Gaza—marked by systematic targeting of civilians and deliberate denial of food and medical aid—constitute genocide under international law.

The growing nutrition crisis facing Gaza’s infants is not merely a humanitarian issue—it is a direct consequence of political and military decisions made with impunity. As Russell warns that “every minute counts,” the question remains: will the world act decisively to end the siege, or will it continue to issue statements while children starve?

The international community must choose between complicity through inaction and the moral obligation to stop what experts and legal bodies increasingly describe as a state-led campaign of extermination against a trapped and defenseless population.

Until that choice is made, Gaza’s children will continue to die—not from lack of resources, but from the deliberate denial of them. (ILKHA)