One in Five Children in Gaza Malnourished, UN Agency Warns

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has reported that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, with cases rising daily. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini described the hunger crisis in Gaza as unprecedented, quoting a colleague who said, "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses."

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have urged governments to act to prevent mass starvation in the region. Israel, which controls the flow of supplies into Gaza, denies imposing a siege and attributes malnutrition to Hamas. The UN has stated that the amount of aid reaching Gaza is insufficient, describing it as "a trickle." Lazzarini reported that over 100 people, mostly children, have died from hunger, with many more children appearing emaciated and at risk of death without urgent treatment. He called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also raised alarms, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus labelling the situation as "man-made mass starvation." Local residents, like Hanaa Almadhoun, a mother of three in northern Gaza, told the BBC that food is scarce and exorbitantly priced, forcing some to sell valuables to afford essentials like flour. She recounted seeing children scavenging through rubbish for food scraps. Tahani Shehada, an aid worker, said survival in Gaza is an hour-by-hour struggle, noting that her eight-month-old baby has never tasted fresh fruit. Meanwhile, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog insisted that the country is providing aid in line with international law. Aid deliveries to Gaza were halted by Israel in early March following a two-month ceasefire, with partial resumption after nearly two months. However, shortages of food, fuel, and medicine have intensified. A new aid system, managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) with US support, has been established, but the UN human rights office reports that over 1,000 Palestinians, including 766 near GHF distribution centres, have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid in the past two months. Israel claims its troops only fire warning shots and accuses Hamas of causing chaos at aid sites, while the GHF disputes the UN’s casualty figures, citing Hamas-run health ministry data. Najah, a 19-year-old widow sheltering in a Gaza hospital, expressed fear of being shot if she ventured to an aid distribution point. A doctor, identified as Dr Aseel, working with a UK medical charity, said her husband was shot while attempting to access aid, describing Gaza as already in a state of famine. Market seller Abu Alaa said he and his children go to bed hungry every night, pleading for international intervention. Walaa Fathi, eight months pregnant, described the situation as an unimaginable catastrophe, expressing hope that she would not give birth under such dire conditions.