UN World Health Organization says 8,000+ Gaza children diagnosed, treated for acute malnutrition
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Biden administration to stop enabling and backing the starvation of children in Gaza by the far-right Israeli government.
That call came after the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “a significant proportion of Gaza’s population is now facing catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions.” To date, more than 8,000 young people have been diagnosed and treated for acute malnutrition, including 1,600 children with the most dangerous form of the condition, the WHO Director-General said.
SEE: Gaza: 8,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition amid ongoing shelling
The UN secretary-general added the Israeli armed forces to the “list of shame” of warring parties committing grave violations against children in armed conflict. The UN verified 5,698 “grave violations” by the Israeli army against children, including the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals..
SEE: Israel Joins UN ‘List of Shame’ for Abuses Against Children in War
15,000 children have been killed by Israeli forces so far.
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“Our government is complicit in one of the most barbaric atrocities to take place before the eyes of the world in recent memory. The World Health Organization has verified that thousands of children in Gaza are now facing starvation because of the Biden administration’s support for the Israeli government’s campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Enough is enough. It is time for President Biden to stop enabling this atrocity, start using American leverage, and force the Israeli government to end its genocidal war.”
He noted that yesterday, CAIR said a new UN report confirms that the Israeli government is carrying out a campaign of extermination, torture and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
SEE: CAIR Says UN Report Confirms Israeli Campaign of ‘Extermination,’ Torture, Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza
Also yesterday, CAIR called on the Biden administration to investigate reports that an American soldier is taking part in the far-right Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza and reportedly posted an image of herself and a destroyed mosque defaced with insults targeting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com