Gaza Strip – Malnutrition rates in Gaza are rapidly increasing as emergency treatments run critically low, raising fears that hunger could cause permanent harm to an entire generation, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Speaking from Deir al-Balah, WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn described worsening conditions in northern Gaza, where over 20% of children screened at one hospital suffer from acute malnutrition.
“I’ve seen a child that’s five years old, and you would say it was two-and-a-half,” Peeperkorn said during a press briefing. “Without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to healthcare, an entire generation will be permanently affected.”
The crisis escalated after Israel resumed its military campaign against Hamas in early March and imposed a blockade on supplies entering Gaza. According to the WHO, current aid stockpiles are only sufficient to treat 500 children with acute malnutrition—far below the actual need.
The Gaza Health Ministry has already recorded at least 55 child deaths from acute malnutrition. Peeperkorn noted that many children are also suffering from illnesses like gastroenteritis and pneumonia, which can become fatal due to weakened immunity from hunger.
The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency chief, Philippe Lazzarini, accused Israel of using food as a weapon of war, a claim Israel denies. Instead, Israeli authorities blame Hamas for diverting aid and are promoting a U.S.-backed plan to distribute supplies directly through so-called neutral sites—an approach the WHO has condemned as “grossly inadequate.”
A global hunger monitor has warned that nearly 500,000 people in Gaza are now at risk of starvation.
