A new United Nations study has revealed that over 54,600 children under the age of five in Gaza are acutely malnourished after two years of war and severe food shortages, with more than 12,800 of them in critical condition.
The analysis, conducted by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and published in The Lancet medical journal, found that by early August, about 16% of children between six months and five years old were experiencing acute wasting—a life-threatening form of malnutrition. Nearly 4% of those cases were classified as severe.
“Tens of thousands of preschool-aged children in the Gaza Strip are now suffering from preventable acute malnutrition and face an increased risk of mortality,” said Dr. Masako Horino, the study’s lead scientist.
The study is considered the most comprehensive to date, analyzing data from screenings of nearly 220,000 children across dozens of Gaza health centers between January and mid-August 2024. The findings align with reports from the Gaza Health Ministry, which said that 461 people—including 157 children—have died from malnutrition-related complications since the conflict began.
According to the researchers, rates of child wasting dropped during brief periods when humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, such as during a six-week ceasefire in early 2025. However, they worsened sharply whenever aid convoys were blocked for extended periods.
Israel has intermittently restricted food and humanitarian aid during the war, imposing a total blockade for over two months beginning in March. In May, limited supplies resumed under a controversial US-Israel-backed distribution system, which the UN said has resulted in over 1,000 Palestinian deaths near aid collection points.
In an accompanying commentary, child health experts Jessica Fanzo of Columbia University, Paul Wise of Stanford University, and Zulfiqar Bhutta of Aga Khan University described the UNRWA analysis as “some of the most definitive evidence” of Gaza’s deepening hunger crisis. “It is now well established that the children of Gaza are starving and require immediate and sustained humanitarian assistance,” they wrote.
Edesia, a US-based nonprofit food aid organization, confirmed that it sent 1,500 boxes of therapeutic food to Gaza in late September and plans to deliver nearly 15,000 more boxes in the coming weeks.
UN officials noted that two of the health workers who helped collect malnutrition data were among 21 UNRWA staff members killed in the ongoing conflict. In total, more than 370 agency employees have died since the war began.
