The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced Sunday that more than 5,800 children in the Gaza Strip were diagnosed with malnutrition during the month of June, amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza and an 18-year blockade.
UNICEF reported that over 1,000 of these children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, warning that this marks the fourth consecutive month of rising cases.
UNICEF stressed that the catastrophic conditions in Gaza demand urgent and large-scale humanitarian aid, cautioning that children are facing escalating threats to their survival due to a widespread famine that has already claimed numerous lives, particularly among children, because of what it described as a campaign of extermination involving systematic starvation and a suffocating siege.
This UNRWA clinic in #Gaza has seen an increase in the number of malnutrition cases since March, when the siege imposed by the Government of Israel started.
UNRWA hasn’t been allowed to bring in any humanitarian aid since.
Despite a critical shortage in supplies essential for… pic.twitter.com/8C0Kf7THG7
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 13, 2025
In parallel, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also issued a warning Sunday about a sharp increase in malnutrition cases across the Strip.
The agency noted that malnutrition rates in its clinics have surged since March, attributing the rise to intensified restrictions by Israeli forces and the blockade on humanitarian aid.
UNRWA further stated that since March, it has been denied access to deliver any humanitarian assistance to northern Gaza, amid severe limitations on essential medical supplies.
Medical teams in Gaza have been forced to prioritize treatment for children with life-threatening illnesses and severe malnutrition, due to dwindling resources and the collapse of the healthcare system under relentless bombardment.
The Gaza Strip, home to approximately 2.4 million people, is enduring an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe since October 7, 2023. More than 1.5 million residents have lost their homes, and most health and humanitarian services have ceased due to destruction and resource depletion.
