Deaths of 13 children from malnutrition in Gaza is ‘a failure’ by international community, UN: Hamas

Hamas said Friday that it considered the deaths of 13 children in the northern Gaza Strip from malnutrition "a failure" by the international community and the UN.

The Palestinian resistance group said the deaths will remain "a stain on the conscience of humanity and a dangerous precedent in our modern time."

It urged the UN and international relief groups to urgently move "to save the children and civilians in the Gaza Strip," in particular, those in the north.

Early Friday, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said four more children died from malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza, bringing the total to 13.

The Ministry accused Israel on Thursday of committing "systematic killing" against 700,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza by directly targeting them or starvation.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and 70,457 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.