GAZA, PALESTINE - AUGUST 2, 2025: Nine-year-old Maryam Abdel Aziz Dawas is one of thousands of children in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition caused by the ongoing Israeli blockade and genocide.

Forcibly displaced from her home in Beit Lahia amid relentless violence in the besieged enclave, Maryam now lives in a Turkmen shelter in Gaza City.

Once healthy and full of life, she has lost 15 kilograms and the ability to walk due to her severe malnutrition.

She was admitted to the Friends of the Patient Hospital, but a crippling shortage of medical resources has prevented her from receiving the urgent care she desperately needs. Medical tests confirm that her deteriorating condition is solely the result of starvation.

Her mother, Madlala Dawas, told Anadolu, “Maryam was full of life, and today she can barely stand,” pleading with authorities to transfer her for treatment outside Gaza.

Maryam remains a tragic example of the suffering endured by thousands of children trapped under Israeli siege and war, while international institutions remain incapable of providing effective intervention.

Gaza is enduring one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history, with famine compounding an ongoing genocidal war perpetrated by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has fully closed all crossings into Gaza since March 2, 2025, blocking most food and medical supplies, which has exacerbated famine conditions.

On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that seven more Palestinians, including a child, had died from starvation, raising the total death toll from hunger to 169, including 93 children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.