The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced today that 113 people have died due to malnutrition, including 81 children and 32 adults. This grim toll highlights a worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory.
Widespread Hunger Amidst Blockade
More than 260,000 children under the age of five are in urgent need of food. Palestinians in Gaza are facing severe hunger due to the Israeli blockade of the Strip, which restricts the entry of humanitarian aid. According to United Nations data, the Israeli military has killed over 1,000 people who were waiting in food lines at distribution points in recent months. These points were recently opened and are managed by an organization supported by Washington and Tel Aviv.
In 2025, there have been 1,556 premature births linked to malnutrition, alongside more than 28,600 cases of childhood malnutrition. Approximately 100,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also affected by food shortages. Although the ministry is managed by Hamas, international organizations, including the World Health Organization, vouch for the credibility of these figures.
UNRWA Chief Warns of Imminent Catastrophe
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated on X (formerly Twitter) that one in five children in Gaza City is now malnourished. He emphasized that most children seen by UNRWA teams are “thin, weak, and at great risk of death if they do not receive the urgent treatment they need.”
Lazzarini added that “parents are too hungry to care for their children,” noting that “this deepening crisis affects everyone.” He also reported that frontline UNRWA health workers “survive on one small meal a day, often just lentils,” and that staff are fainting from hunger while on duty.
Lazzarini further revealed that UNRWA has “6,000 trucks loaded with food and medical supplies” waiting in Jordan and Egypt. He has urged Israel to allow “humanitarian partners to bring unlimited and uninterrupted humanitarian aid into Gaza,” as reported by the BBC.
