Malnutrition reaches new heights in Gaza, children most affected
"These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza's north to the central city of Nuseirat, told AFP: "We are dying, our children are dying and we can't do anything to stop it."
"Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food.
"And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous -- no one can afford it."
At a food distribution site in a UN-school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat on Sunday, children entertained themselves by banging on their plates as they waited for their turn.
Several of them had faces stretched thin by hunger, an AFP journalist reported.
Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, said she had lost 35 kilograms (77 pounds).
"We do not eat enough. I don't eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter," she said, adding that she had a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes.
Depleted stocks
Gazans as well as the UN and aid organisations frequently complain that depleted stocks have sent prices skyrocketing for what little food is available in the markets.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned in early July that the price of flour for bread was 3,000 times more expensive than before the war began more than 21 months ago.
WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, described the situation as "the worst I've ever seen".
"A father I met had lost 25 kilograms in the past two months. People are starving, while we have food just across the border," he said in a statement.
After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May.
As stocks accumulated during the ceasefire gradually depleted, the Palestinian territory experienced the worst shortages since the start of the war.
"Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it," said Skau.
-'I'm always hungry' -
The effects of malnutrition on children and pregnant women can be particularly dire.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said last week that its teams are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by its teams in Gaza.
"Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation levels, many babies are being born prematurely," said Joanne Perry, an MSF doctor in Gaza.
"Our neonatal intensive care unit is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator."
Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, said she thinks of food constantly.
"I'm always hungry. I always tell my father, 'I want food', and he promises he'll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can't," she told AFP.
MSF said that patients at its Gaza clinics do not heal properly from their wounds due to protein deficiency, and that the lack of food causes infections to last longer than they would in healthy individuals.
Hamas's 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers these figures to be reliable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Gaza today: under debris and in darkness
The Israeli army has relentlessly pounded the densely populated territory of 365 square kilometres (141 square miles) in retaliation for Hamas's 2023 attack, which sparked the war and resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. 53 million tonnes of debris The Israeli military's campaign in Gaza has killed 59,219 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The material damage has also been devastating: as of April 4, 2025, the Israeli campaign had destroyed 174,500 buildings, according to UNOSAT, the UN's satellite analysis service. The debris from this destruction is estimated by UNOSAT at 53.5 million tonnes, approximately 10 times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. On average, this amounts to nearly 146 kilograms of rubble for each square metre of land, according to the UN agency. Prior to the start of the war, there were buildings destroyed by Israel in Gaza. But since October 2023, the destruction represents a mass 18 times greater than all the debris from buildings hit by Israel over the previous 15 years. Asbestos risks According to a publication by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in early July, this mass of debris contains toxic materials likely to expose the Gaza population to health risks. The agency estimates 3.7 tonnes of asbestos from the debris of old buildings and 2.6 tonnes of toxic waste in the debris of former industrial structures. Several refugee camps, such as those in Jabalia, Nuseirat, Maghazi, Khan Yunis and Rafah are located in close proximity to "debris potentially contaminated with asbestos", according to UNEP. Half hospitals 'partially' operational Medical facilities have also suffered extensive damage during bombardments by Israel, which accuses Hamas fighters of using hospitals as shelters or bases to launch attacks. As of June 30, only 18 of the territory's 36 hospitals were "partially" operational, according to the UN. Of 163 healthcare facilities, just 63 (less than 40 percent) were suitable for providing care. Nearly 90 percent of schools damaged School buildings, which have been turned into shelters for the displaced, have also faced heavy damage, with the army accusing Hamas of using them to hide fighters. As of April 1, UNICEF had recorded damage to 501 of the 564 schools it documented, equivalent to nearly 9 out of 10. Of these, 95 were damaged, potentially severely, and 406 were directly hit. Seven times less light Before the conflict, the Gaza Strip was supplied with mains electricity for an average of 12 hours per day, according to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). But in 2024, the power grid was unavailable throughout the day. The territory's only power plant stopped functioning in the early days of the conflict for want of fuel, and the power lines coming from Israel were cut. Together, these two sources had met 43 percent of Gaza's electricity needs before the conflict, leaving the remaining demand unfulfilled. At night, the territory is plunged into darkness. AFP analysed data from NASA's BlackMarble project, which measures radiance (the power of light emission) at the Earth's surface. On average, from January to May 2025, the night-time radiance in the Gaza Strip was reduced by a factor of 7 compared to the five months prior to the start of the conflict (May to September 2023). For Gaza City, it was 16 times lower. Only one area maintained a brightness level comparable to that of the pre-war period: the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt which is entirely controlled by the Israeli military.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
WHO chief says 'large proportion' of Gaza's people 'starving'
"A large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation -- and it's man-made," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. His statement added his voice to those of 111 aid organisations and rights groups, including MSF and Oxfam, who warned earlier Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza. "Our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away," they said in a joint statement. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where more than two million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. "The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation," Tedros said. "We are now witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths," he added. Children starving to death Tedros highlighted that "rates of global acute malnutrition exceed 10 percent, and over 20 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women that have been screened are malnourished, often severely". The UN health agency has documented 21 deaths in Gaza related to malnutrition of children under the age of five since the beginning of the year, but acknowledges that that the true number is likely higher. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said Tuesday that 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory over the previous three days alone. Tedros warned that "the hunger crisis is being accelerated by the collapse of aid pipelines and restrictions on access". The starvation is "man-made" and clearly caused by Israel's blockade on the territory, he said. The WHO chief highlighted how starving people were risking their lives to access aid. The UN rights office said Tuesday that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May. "Not only 1,026 were killed while trying to feed themselves or find food for their family. Thousands were also wounded," Tedros said. "We demand that there is full access, and we demand that there is a ceasefire," he said. "We demand that there is a political solution to this problem, a lasting solution."
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
AFP journalist covers war as Gaza faces extreme shortages
"I walk 14 to 15 kilometres (nine miles) every day to reach the news sites," he said. "This morning, I walked about a 25-kilometre round trip in search of information." More than 21 months of war between Israel and Hamas have displaced almost all of Gaza's population, triggered severe shortages of food and other essentials, and reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble. Hassouna, 48, said his arduous journeys, in searing heat, were "very, very difficult" and even took their toll on his shoes. "I used to change my shoes every six months," he said. "Today, I wear out a pair every month." Whether filming the chaotic scramble for meagre aid or the bloody aftermath of an air strike, Hassouna said that extreme scarcities of food, clean water and medical care in Gaza further complicated his efforts to cover the devastating conflict. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. More than 100 aid organisations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading across the population of over two million people, after Israel imposed a more than two-month aid blockade, only easing it a little in late May. Hassouna, who is based in Gaza City, said his main struggle was accessing enough food to feed himself and his family, including a sick sister who lives with him. After living through almost two years of conflict, his once full face appears drawn and his eyes sunken. "My weight used to be around 110 kilograms (over 17 stone), today it is between 65 and 70 kilograms (barely 11 stone)," he said. 'Prices multiplied by 100' The deepening hunger crisis in Gaza has sent the prices of what little food there is soaring, leaving daily essentials out of reach for many. "Obtaining food in Gaza is extremely difficult. Even when it is available, prices are multiplied by 100," Hassouna said. He explained that a kilogram of lentils which used to cost three shekels ($0.90) would now set him back 80 shekels ($24). The price of rice, he said, had gone up 20 fold. "Access to water is equally difficult, whether it is fresh water or salt water," Hassouna added. "Children have to queue for four, five, six or even seven hours to collect it". Hassouna said that his work documenting the conflict sometimes posed problems with Palestinians living in Gaza, who feared Israeli reprisals against journalists. "Some like journalists, others do not," he said. "Those who support us come to talk to me, 'Tell us what's happening, when will this war end? Make our voice heard abroad, tell the whole world that we don't want war'. "Others say the opposite, "Don't come near, don't join us. Journalists are targeted by Israeli bombings'." Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in early July that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's October 2023 attack sparked the war. That assault resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Wishing calm for future generations, Hassouna said he wanted to send a message of peace. "Since our childhood, we have lived in war, and we do not want our children -- or even (Israeli) children -- to experience this," he said. "We all want a life without conflict." © 2025 AFP
