UN warns of alarming surge in malnutrition among Gaza children

The United Nations has reported a sharp and deeply troubling rise in child malnutrition across the Gaza Strip, as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate.

According to figures released on July 22 by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 8.8 per cent of children screened across the enclave during the first two weeks of July were found to be malnourished—more than triple the 2.4 per cent recorded in the same month last year, Caliber.Az reports per Israeli media.

The data is based on a widespread screening conducted in health clinics throughout Gaza, using a basic measurement of forearm thickness to assess nutritional status.

Of the 56,440 children screened, nearly 5,000 were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition, with 838 cases considered extreme.

In addition, a separate dietary diversity assessment from June revealed that 95 per cent of children in Gaza were consuming only two or fewer of the eight essential food groups—up significantly from 60 per cent in February.

Malnutrition, particularly in children, can lead to long-term health consequences, including impaired brain development, weakened immune systems, and delayed physical and cognitive growth. UN officials have warned that a significant number of children in Gaza are now at risk of suffering permanent developmental harm.

The rising rates of hunger coincide with a dramatic surge in food prices. A recent UN report noted that the price of a kilogram of flour in Gaza has reached an estimated $100. Meanwhile, at least 218 children were hospitalised for malnutrition as of Sunday, with 29 admitted in July alone.

On Wednesday, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters that WHO centres in Gaza are overwhelmed and unable to accommodate the growing number of malnourished patients. He also condemned an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, which damaged the WHO’s headquarters in Deir al-Balah.

The worsening food crisis has severely affected aid operations. Community kitchens operated by the World Food Programme and other organisations have seen output drop drastically—from one million meals per day several months ago to just 150,000 meals across 64 kitchens last week.

The World Central Kitchen charity has been forced to suspend its activities altogether, citing critical shortages of supplies and the Israeli military’s evacuation orders, which shuttered four of its kitchens.

“Families generally survive on a single nutritionally poor meal per day, and in some cases, people go entire days without food,” the UN stated. “To survive, people are forced to adopt increasingly desperate and undignified coping strategies—fasting, shrinking portion sizes, rationing bread for children, borrowing, begging, and even scavenging from rubbish.”

In a further development, Israel’s High Court is due to hear the state’s response on July 24 to a petition filed by four human rights groups demanding the immediate opening of all Gaza border crossings to prevent famine.

The petition, initially submitted in May by Gisha, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, and Physicians for Human Rights, has been met with repeated delays. Justice Yosef Elron has granted ten separate extensions to the state thus far.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to draw international concern, with aid agencies warning that without urgent action, the crisis could spiral into an irreversible catastrophe.

By Aghakazim Guliyev