The war inside the bodies of Gaza's children

CGTN Europe

Malnutrition and starvation are stalking Gaza – and children are the most at risk. Experts say that even if aid – which has dwindled to a trickle – started to come in, the physical effects could wreck a generation. CGTN’s Michael Marillier reports.   #gaza #palestine #hunger #malnutrition #starvation

Transcript

00:01These children should not be here. They should be going to school, playing with

00:06friends, having fun. Instead, they're in Gaza's NASA hospital, slowly wasting away.

00:13The hospital treats them with cartons of nutritional supplements, but soon, across

00:19Gaza, there may be none left. We are running out of therapeutic supplies. We

00:26only have 3,000 cartons. That's the equivalent of treating only 3,000 children. That's really

00:33dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment.

00:39Aid group Doctors Without Borders says 25% of the children it treats now have severe malnutrition.

00:46Among them, Sila Barbagh, who is just a year old. At this age, she should tip the scales

00:52at about 10 kilograms. Her mother says she weighs just 4.

00:57Since I delivered her, she's been small, and she doesn't grow up. Her condition gets worse

01:04inside the hospital. And every time I go home, I find her becoming more and more weak.

01:13More supplies will keep children like Sila alive. But even if they get them, their battle is far

01:18from over. Experts say infants with malnutrition could suffer the consequences for decades.

01:25It stunts their growth, and it stunts their brain growth as well. So they can have issues

01:30with speech delays, reading delays, or even just like relationship delays with their parents.

01:34Some children are facing a battle to survive before they're even born. The charity Save the

01:40Children says the number of miscarriages has climbed nearly 300% during the conflict.

01:45Gaza is a war zone. It has been for nearly two years. But for children like Sila, the war

01:54is not just raging outside. It's in their tiny bodies. Bodies fighting every day to survive.

02:03Michael Marilia, CGTN.

02:05Michael MarCU Patrol

02:06Michael Marлушай

02:08Bob

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02:26D

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