Children in Gaza Suffer from Acute Malnutrition Since Israel Controlled Humanitarian Aid Distribution

A 6-month-old baby suffering from acute malnutrition was examined by UNRWA and eventually died in the last few days. (X UNRWA)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) revealed that the rate of child malnutrition in the Gaza Strip has doubled since Israel began restricting the entry of humanitarian aid in March 2025.

Citing AP, Wednesday, July 16, health officials in Gaza said today that hunger has increased among more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel canceled the ceasefire in March 2025 and banned all food and other humanitarian supplies from entering Gaza. Israel claimed this was to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.

Only in late May 2025 did Israel slightly ease the blockade on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

UNRWA, the main UN agency caring for Palestinians in Gaza, said it had examined nearly 16,000 children under the age of 5 in its clinics in June 2025.

According to UNRWA, 10.2 percent of them suffered from acute malnutrition. This figure is up from UNRWA data from March, when 5.5 percent of the nearly 15,000 children screened were malnourished.

UNICEF, which screens children separately from UNRWA, also reported a significant increase in malnutrition cases in Gaza.

UNICEF stated this week that its clinics had documented 5,870 cases of malnutrition in children in June, an increase for the fourth consecutive month and more than double the approximately 2,000 cases documented in February 2025.