55,000 children under five years of age severely malnourished in Gaza

An estimated 54,600 children under the age of five in Gaza suffer from malnutrition, with more than 12,800 of them in critical condition, according to a new UN study. This is happening due to the two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas and severe food shortage.

According to an analysis by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (which provides primary health services to Palestinian refugees), as of early August about 16 percent of children aged six months to five years in Gaza were suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.

This fatal form of malnutrition is called wasting. Four percent of children are severely malnourished. Treatment of wasting requires several weeks of nutritional support and sometimes hospitalization.

The study, published in a leading journal, is the most comprehensive study to date on children suffering from hunger in the region. It is based on screening approximately 220,000 children in several health centers in Gaza between January 2024 and mid-August.

The study said more than 54,600 children under the age of five in Gaza suffer from malnutrition and 12,800 of them are in critical condition.

“Thousands of preschool-age children in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe, preventable malnutrition. These children are at increased risk of death,” Dr. Masako Horino, the study’s lead scientist, said in a statement.