The United States of America confirmed, on Monday, that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “unbearable,” at a time when the World Health Organization warned that children are dying of hunger in two hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip.

During a press conference, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller revealed that Washington “continues to press for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages” and “continues to pressure the Israeli government to increase aid shipments to northern Gaza.”

He added, "It is now very difficult to deliver aid from southern and central Gaza to its north," noting that "Washington is focusing on increasing aid to Gaza and continuing it through the largest possible number of channels."

He revealed that the United States is optimistic that a new sea route to deliver aid to Gaza, which is currently under discussion, could complement the current efforts to deliver aid to the Strip by land and through airdrops.

The World Health Organization had warned that children were dying of hunger in two hospitals in northern Gaza, which its mission visited at the end of the week, observing a severe shortage of food, fuel and medicine.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the agency's two weekend visits to Al Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals "were the first since October 2023 despite our efforts to reach northern Gaza more regularly."

He pointed out in a post on the He said that Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only hospital with a children's department in northern Gaza, was crowded with patients, adding, "The food scarcity led to the death of ten children."

In total, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the death of at least 16 children as a result of malnutrition in northern Gaza, which was cut off from aid.

The spokesman for the Hamas Ministry of Health, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said on Sunday, “We fear for the lives of six children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration in intensive care at Kamal Adwan Hospital as a result of the stoppage of the electric generator and oxygen and the weakness of medical capabilities.”

Last week, the United Nations warned that famine in Gaza had become “almost inevitable” due to the war raging in the Strip since Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack inside Israel on October 7.

Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas after its attack, which killed more than 1,160 people, the majority of whom were women and children, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official figures.

Also, 250 people were taken hostage, 130 of whom are still in captivity, according to Israel, which estimates that 31 of them were likely killed in the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched an intense bombing campaign on Gaza in response to the attack, followed by ground military operations on October 27, which have so far resulted in the deaths of 30,534 people, the majority of whom are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip.

In addition to the severe food shortages in the two hospitals, Tedros warned on

He said that the mission delivered 9,500 liters of fuel and basic medical supplies to each of the two hospitals at the end of the week. He pointed out that what was delivered meets "a small part of the urgent life-saving needs."

The Director-General of the organization renewed his call on Israel to “ensure the safe and orderly delivery of humanitarian aid.”

He said, "Civilians, especially children and medical staff, need immediate reinforced aid," stressing that "the basic medicine for all these sick people is peace. It is a ceasefire."