Nearly 5,000 children under 5 acutely malnourished in first 2 weeks of July, says spokesperson
The UN warned on Thursday that more than 1 million children in the Gaza Strip are "bearing the brunt of deepening starvation and malnutrition" as humanitarian access remains severely restricted by Israel.
"More than 1 million children are bearing the brunt of deepening starvation and malnutrition, with reports of death from malnutrition increasing by the day," spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a news conference.
Citing data from the UN's nutrition partners, Haq said nearly 5,000 of the 56,000 children under the age of 5 who were screened for malnutrition in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in the first two weeks of July were found to be acutely malnourished.
"This is a staggering 9% rate, up from 6% in June and just 2.4% in February," he said.
On aid operations, Haq noted that of the 16 attempts Tuesday to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, eight were facilitated by Israel.
"Two other movements were initially approved, but then faced impediments on the ground. Three were outright denied, including the retrieval of medical supplies, and the remaining three had to be canceled by the organizers," he said.
He said the aid brought into the enclave in the last two months "is nowhere near sufficient to meet people’s survival needs."
"The UN and our partners are unable to bring enough aid into Gaza due to a number of interdependent factors, including bureaucratic, logistical, administrative and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities," he added.
Haq pointed to "ongoing hostilities and access constraints" within Gaza, including "criminal looting and more shooting incidents that have killed and injured people gathering to offload aid supplies."
"These factors have put people and humanitarian staff at grave risk and forced aid agencies, on many occasions, to pause the collection of cargo from crossings controlled by the Israeli authorities," he said.
At least 113 Palestinians have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Palestine Health Ministry.
Since March 2, Israel has stalled on implementing a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and has kept Gaza’s border crossings shut, leaving humanitarian aid trucks stranded along the frontier.
Israel has killed more than 59,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since late 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
