Thousands of Gaza children under five treated for malnutrition in two weeks

Over 7,000 Children Under Five Treated for Severe Malnutrition in Gaza in Two Weeks, Reports Show

In just two weeks last month, more than 7,000 children under five suffering from acute malnutrition were admitted to recovery programmes at clinics supported by Unicef in Gaza. The full count for August is still being finalized but is projected to surpass 15,000 new cases—more than seven times the number recorded in February.

Last month, a famine was officially declared in Gaza City, located in the north of the devastated region. However, officials warned that other towns farther south are quickly reaching similarly dire conditions.

“The situation on the ground makes it unmistakably clear—people are starving. A famine is already unfolding in Gaza City, while Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis [two southern areas] are not far behind,” said Tess Ingram, a Unicef spokesperson who recently spent time in Gaza City.

Ingram recounted meeting an undernourished mother in the region who could no longer breastfeed her malnourished eight-month-old child.

“She and her husband were surviving on a single cup of rice each day. The conditions are devastating,” Ingram added.

Once a bustling center of commerce and culture, Gaza City is now the focus of a new military operation by Israeli forces, which could displace its estimated million or more residents. Israeli authorities have referred to the city as a Hamas stronghold.

The military has instructed Palestinian civilians to evacuate Gaza City ahead of the assault but has provided no specific timeline, having previously stated that operations would not be announced in advance.

This offensive threatens to uproot hundreds of thousands of Palestinians already weakened by nearly two years of bombardment, malnutrition, and now famine. Many have been displaced multiple times before, and some Gaza City residents say they refuse to flee again.

Though Israel lifted a strict two-month blockade on supplies entering Gaza in May, available provisions remain insufficient.

Humanitarian organizations are struggling to overcome severe logistical challenges, ongoing restrictions, and bureaucratic delays to support a handful of communal kitchens and bakeries. Meanwhile, private commercial trucks bring in small amounts of rice, sugar, instant noodles, and other dry goods. Fresh vegetables are scarce, with prices reaching as much as $50 per kilogram—far beyond what most can afford.

“The situation is unchanged—families share one bowl of lentils or rice a day from a communal kitchen, with parents going without so their children can eat. There’s no proper nutrition. No alternatives—aid is limited, and market prices are unaffordable,” said Ingram.

Residents describe being forced into an impossible decision: stay in fragile shelters in Gaza City and risk survival under potential military action or flee to overcrowded coastal areas where space, basic services, clean water, and medical care are nearly nonexistent.

Aid workers in al-Mawasi, the primary coastal area designated for those fleeing Gaza City, say hundreds of thousands of displaced people are already crowded onto its sandy terrain.