UN: Over 10,000 Children in Gaza City Suffer Acute Malnutrition

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a dire warning, stating that more than 10,000 children in Gaza City are in urgent need of treatment for acute malnutrition. The staggering figure is part of a wider crisis that sees an estimated 26,000 children across the Gaza Strip requiring life-saving nutritional care.

The alarming report comes as a military offensive intensifies in Gaza City, forcing a mass displacement of residents and further hindering humanitarian efforts. According to UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram, the forced movement of families is a “deadly threat for the most vulnerable” and is compounding an already catastrophic situation.

The ongoing hostilities have forced several nutrition centers in Gaza City to shut down this week, cutting off children from a third of the remaining treatment sites that could save their lives. Humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, have also reported facing significant obstacles in delivering aid. The UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, stated that out of 17 planned aid missions, only four were facilitated, while others were either denied or impeded.

The UN has confirmed that famine has taken hold in Gaza City, where the rate of child malnutrition is soaring. With a lack of food, clean water, and medical supplies, the psychological trauma and physical suffering of children are reaching unprecedented levels. UNICEF is urgently calling for a sustained ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life.