Food to Gaza: 'No Further Delays,' Says World Food Programme; WHO Warns of 'Dangerous' Malnutrition
The Wire Staff
Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July—including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults, the WHO said.
New Delhi: As Israel announced a halt in its attacks on Gaza for 10 hours, the United Nations World Food Programme urged Tel Aviv to increase "without further delays" food assistance to Gaza. The first food trucks are understood to have rolled into Gaza through Egypt on July 28.
The WFP said it has enough food to feed the 2.1 million starving population for three months. "Food aid is the only real way for most people inside Gaza to eat," it said in the statement.
Israel's enforced starvation of Gaza has led to global outrage – even from parties otherwise thought to be unsympathetic to Palestinians' suffering.
The full text of the WFP's note is as follows:
WFP welcomes the news that Israel is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses, and that designated humanitarian corridors will be created, to facilitate the safe movement of UN convoys delivering emergency food supplies and other aid to people in Gaza.
WFP has enough food in - or on its way to - the region to feed the entire population of 2.1 million people for almost three months.
These new commitments to improve operating conditions come on top of earlier assurances from Israel to strengthen facilitation of humanitarian assistance. This includes allowing more trucks to enter Gaza with quicker clearances and approvals, use of alternative roads and routes inside Gaza, assurances of no armed forces or shootings near convoys, and the ability for humanitarian organizations to import and use the communications equipment needed to coordinate aid deliveries. Together, we hope these measures will allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays.
WFP teams delivered 350 truckloads of food aid into Gaza last week under extremely challenging circumstances that put civilians and aid workers at tremendous risk. This represents just over half the number of convoys WFP requested permission to send in.
Since the May 21st reopening of border crossings, WFP has delivered 22,000 tons of food aid into Gaza. More than 62,000 tons of food assistance is needed monthly to cover the entire 2.1 million population.
Food aid is the only real way for most people inside Gaza to eat. A third of the population is not eating for days. Some 470,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions. 90,000 women and children need urgent nutrition treatment. People are dying due to a lack of humanitarian assistance.
An agreed ceasefire is the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner – wherever they are across the Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that malnutrition is on "a dangerous trajectory" in Gaza. "Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives," WHO said in a statement posted on X.
Its statement is as follows:
Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July.
Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July—including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults. Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting.
The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.
Nearly one in five children under five in #Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, as reported by Nutrition Cluster partners. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM), which measures the percentage of children aged 6–59 months suffering from acute malnutrition, has tripled since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Gaza Strip.
In Khan Younis and the Middle Area, rates have doubled in less than one month. These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities.
So far in July, over 5000 children under five have already been admitted for outpatient treatment of malnutrition in just the first two weeks, 18% of them with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), the most life-threatening form. This continues a significant rising trend since May, with 6500 children admitted for treatment in June, which is the highest number recorded since October 2023.
An additional 73 children with SAM and medical complications were hospitalized in July, compared to 39 in June, bringing total inpatient admissions in 2025 to 263. This surge in cases is overwhelming the only four specialized malnutrition treatment centres in the Gaza Strip, pushing an already fragile health system closer to collapse. All four centres are working beyond capacity, running low on fuel, with their supplies expected to run out by mid-next month. Health workers are exhausted, and the breakdown of water and sanitation systems is accelerating the spread of disease, driving a dangerous cycle of illness and death.
The crisis is taking a severe toll on pregnant and breastfeeding women. Recent Nutrition Cluster screening data shows that over 40% are severely malnourished. The situation is most critical in the Middle Area, where rates have tripled compared to June, and in Gaza City and Khan Younis, where they have doubled.
It is not only hunger that is killing people but also the desperate search for food. Families are being forced to risk their lives for a handful of food, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions. Since 27 May, more than 1060 people have been killed and 7200 injured while trying to access food.
▶️ WHO calls for urgent, sustained efforts to flood the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food and to expedite the delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, as well as essential medicines and supplies. This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration.
▶️WHO reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and health.
▶️WHO also calls for the release of our detained colleague, the release of hostages, and for an immediate #ceasefire.
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