Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Ansarollah Website - Palestine - Muharram 21, 1447 AH

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that one in ten children examined in its clinics in Gaza suffers from malnutrition.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said in Geneva via video link from the Jordanian capital, Amman: "Our health teams confirm the high rates of malnutrition in Gaza, especially since the tightening of the blockade more than four months ago on March 2."

She noted that UNRWA has examined more than 240,000 children under the age of five in its clinics since January 2024, adding that malnutrition was rarely detected in the Gaza Strip before the war.

Touma added, "A nurse we spoke to told us that he had only learned about malnutrition cases through books and documentaries in the past."

She confirmed that medicines, nutrition supplies, hygiene materials, and fuel are all running out rapidly.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza last month, including more than 1,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. This is the fourth consecutive month of increase.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported a few days ago that the number of children killed due to malnutrition so far has reached 67, while more than 650,000 children under the age of five are at real and immediate risk of severe malnutrition in the coming weeks, out of a total of 1.1 million children in the Strip.