EXCLUSIVE: UNRWA tells the Canary Gaza death toll “much higher” than reported

Adnan Abu Hasna, media advisor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has said that the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s engineered disease and hunger is “much higher” than what the Ministry of Health announces, stressing that many victims die silently without their names being recorded in official lists.

UNRWA: death toll in Gaza “much higher”

In an exclusive statement to the Canary, Abu Hasna explained that the announced figures are limited to cases that reach hospitals and clinics, while others are buried around or inside tents and in shelters without official documentation, pointing out that:

the number of deaths from this war is much higher than what is announced.

He warned of an acceleration in the pace of deaths, given that the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” oversees the entry of aid, in addition to the looting and theft of relief convoys, which exacerbates the humanitarian crisis.

Earlier on Tuesday 2 September, the Ministry of Health announced that 70 Palestinians, including 17 children, had died in the Gaza Strip since the famine was officially declared, noting that 43,000 children under the age of five and more than 55,000 pregnant and lactating women were suffering from malnutrition. The ministry also recorded 185 deaths due to hunger in August alone.

Abu Hasna emphasized that the collapse of the population’s immunity due to hunger makes their bodies unable to resist disease, with dangerous viruses and bacteria spreading, including meningitis and hepatitis, two diseases that had been contained before the war. He added that these epidemics may not be limited to Gaza, but could also spread to the Israeli side.

He noted that the sector is witnessing an unprecedented collapse in the health and humanitarian systems, while ongoing military operations are destroying what remains of the infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in tents that lack the most basic facilities.

Things will only worsen thanks to Israel and the West

The UNRWA media advisor predicted that the wave of disease and death would worsen as immunity and malnutrition continued to deteriorate, citing the rise in the death toll over the past 48 hours as a result of the “cumulative collapse of the human body.”

The disaster is not limited to health, as Abu Hasna confirmed that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are also suffering from psychological and mental disorders as a result of the war and famine, which is accelerating the collapse of their vital functions.

He noted that the crisis is worsening with the continued ban on the entry of medicines, therapeutic nutrients, supplements, and even childhood vaccinations, warning of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.

In a report released on 22 August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced that famine had broken out in the Gaza Strip, predicting that it would spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis by the end of September.

Featured image via the Canary