Despite the announcement of a plan for a ceasefire, signaling hope for increased aid to Gaza, a significant level of hunger persists in the region.
A recent study published in the Lancet medical journal by researchers from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reveals that more than 54,600 children under the age of five in the Gaza Strip are severely malnourished.
The study utilized upper-arm measurements of children aged between six months and five years to assess the prevalence of “acute wasting,” the most critical stage of malnutrition requiring urgent intervention.
Children with arm measurements below 125 millimeters were enrolled in UNRWA’s feeding program. Acute wasting leads to extreme thinness and weakened immune systems in children, making them vulnerable to developmental delays and illnesses, as per Unicef.
Over 219,000 children were measured at 16 operational health centers and 78 medical points from January 2024 to August 2025, making this study the most comprehensive examination of child malnutrition in the region to date.
Dr. Masako Horino, the lead author of the study and a nutrition epidemiologist, expressed concern over the impact of two years of conflict and restricted humanitarian aid, emphasizing the preventable suffering of preschool-aged children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.
By August of this year, 15.8% of screened children were identified as suffering from acute wasting, according to UNRWA. The study also highlights a fluctuation in malnutrition levels corresponding to changes in conflict intensity and aid accessibility.
Seventeen-year-old Ahmed Ali Batniji shares his experience struggling to survive hunger in Gaza. The United Nations and many aid groups accuse Israel of creating a famine by obstructing food deliveries into the territory, which Israel denies.
Dr. Prabhat Jha, a global health professor, described the study findings as “shocking,” emphasizing the correlation between malnutrition rates and food aid availability in Gaza.
Three experts in child health, nutrition, and public policy, not involved in the study, emphasized the urgent need for sustained humanitarian assistance for the starving children in Gaza, based on the study’s compelling evidence of widespread malnourishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refuted reports of starvation in Gaza, attributing them to misinformation spread by Hamas, despite ongoing reports from humanitarian organizations and medical professionals highlighting the severe impact of hunger.
