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One in three sick babies dying in Gaza - UNICEF

GENEVA, June 13 (Reuters) - One in three sick Palestinian newborns are dying in Gaza hospitals due to poor care and lack of basic medicines, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
The agency said it was nearly tripling its appeal for the occupied territories to $22.7 million from the previous $8.4 million as the Palestinian Authority was unable to provide essential health and education services.

The United States and the European Union have cut aid and Israel has suspended tax revenue transfers to the Hamas-led government, which won elections in January. The Islamist militant group is sworn to destroy the Jewish state.

Most teachers and health workers have not received salaries for three months due to the financial crunch, making it difficult to motivate them and reducing the quality of services, UNICEF spokesman Damien Personnaz said.

"One baby in three is at risk of dying in the hospitals of Gaza simply because there are no more medicines and essential drugs ...," Personnaz told a news briefing.

"They are dying of very basic diseases because they don't have access either to a proper health facility, or to proper treatment, a proper doctor or proper medicines. It is something which has been happening for two months already."

He said: "The situation in the occupied territories is very alarming and the civilian population, especially women and children, are the main victims of the conflict."

Hospitals lack basics such as aspirin or antibiotics while mobile health clinics lack fuel or functioning vehicles, a UNICEF appeal update sent to donors on Tuesday said.

"Central stocks of critical medicines were at or near zero levels in May. There is an urgent lack of supplies and equipment, particularly for newborn care," it said.

Children's nutritional status has suffered due to poverty and restrictions on the movement of goods, it added.

Across the territories, one in 10 children are stunted due to malnutrition, with the rate reaching one in nine in Gaza.

Disruptions in water and sanitation services had increased the risk of communicable disease, UNICEF said.

UNICEF said 16 Palestinian children and an Israeli child had lost their lives in the conflict since the start of the year to May 24 and another 127 Palestinians had been injured.