Every Child Under Five in Gaza Faces Severe Malnutrition: UN

Siham Sobh, 71, feeds her seven-month granddaughter Janin Sobh lentil soup she received from a local charity, as her husband Rajab Sobh, 82, looks on from inside their tent in the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City on 3 August 2025.

The United Nations has warned that every child under five in Gaza is at risk of life-threatening malnutrition as starvation worsens amid Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.

According to the UN’s World Food Programme, approximately 320,000 young children are suffering due to the collapse of nutrition services and lack access to safe water, breast milk substitutes, and therapeutic feeding.

Paediatrician Seema Jilani explained that malnutrition affects multiple organs and severely threatens children’s health and development, causing many to miss critical developmental milestones.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza reported six new deaths linked to famine and malnutrition, including one child, bringing the total hunger-related deaths since the conflict began to 181, with 94 children among the victims, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry also raised concerns about a sharp increase in cases of acute soft paralysis in children, linked to infections and severe malnutrition, and reported three deaths from Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare condition causing sudden numbness and muscle weakness.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s authorities accused Israel of deliberately blocking over 22,000 aid trucks from entering the territory, calling it a calculated campaign of starvation and siege. The blockade has been in place since early March after the end of a two-month ceasefire.

Humanitarian groups report a dramatic rise in malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women, with nearly 43 percent affected in July—almost three times higher than in March. The ban on infant formula entering Gaza has further worsened the crisis.

The situation in Gaza remains dire as access to vital nutrition and medical support continues to be severely restricted.