UN official reports tripling of child malnutrition in Gaza in six months

The number of malnourished children among nearly 100,000 children under the age of five screened by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has tripled across the Gaza Strip in less than six months compared with March figures, said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, on Tuesday.

Currently, nearly one-third of children in Gaza City are malnourished, he noted on social media platform X.

Lazzarini emphasized that this is a man-made starvation, as UNRWA and other aid organizations have been unable to deliver supplies to the Gaza Strip for the past six months.

He reiterated his call for Israel to allow aid supplies to enter Gaza.

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 62,122, with 156,758 others injured since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on October 7, 2023, Gaza's health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.

The death toll in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has risen to 71,441 since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on Oct 7, 2023, with the number of injuries reaching 171,329, said Gaza's health authorities on Thursday.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza received two bodies, according to the health authorities.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on Oct 11, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 451 people and wounded 1,251 others in the Gaza Strip.