Nearly 12,000 children under the age of five in Gaza are now suffering from acute malnutrition, the highest monthly figure ever recorded in the territory, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday, as hunger-related deaths continue to rise.
“In July, nearly 12,000 children under five years were identified as having acute malnutrition in Gaza,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva. At least 99 people, including 35 children, 29 of them under five, have died from hunger-related causes since January 1, according to WHO figures.
UNICEF data shows the crisis is worsening rapidly: admissions for malnutrition nearly doubled between June and July, from 6,344 to 11,877, with around 2,500 children now in severe condition.
WHO officials say supplies of baby formula and therapeutic foods are dangerously low, and called for “flooding” Gaza with diverse nutrition aid through all possible channels.
“The overall volume of nutrition supplies remains completely insufficient to prevent further deterioration,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for the occupied Palestinian Territory.
A global hunger monitor has warned that a famine scenario is unfolding in Gaza, where humanitarian access remains heavily restricted amid the ongoing conflict.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that food consumption has fallen to its lowest level since the war began, with 81% of households reporting poor diets, up sharply from 33% in April.
Gaza, home to 2.2 million people, is now facing what UN agencies describe as a rapidly accelerating starvation crisis, with children among the most vulnerable.
Written By Rodney Mbua
