WHO says malnutrition reaching 'alarming levels' in Gaza

Jordan Times

17 hours ago

GENEVA — Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organisation warned on Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives.
"Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July," the WHO said in a statement, adding: "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 UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were "enduring famine-like conditions" that were already leading to deaths.
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging Israel "to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now."
Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation".
Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the UN and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled.
Egyptian state-linked media on Sunday reported that aid trucks had begun entering the Gaza Strip as Israel announced a "tactical pause" in parts of the devastated territory to allow deliveries.
"Egyptian aid trucks begin to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing," Al-Qahera News posted on X, alongside footage of aid convoys moving in the border area.
In Gaza City's Tel Al Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her "life's wish" was to simply feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily.