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Food supply

Gaza's Hunger Crisis Reaches Tipping Point: Children Die as Food Shortages Exacerbate Malnutrition

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Critically low supplies of fortified milk and special nutritious pastes are exacerbating food shortages in Gaza, pushing children into starvation, according to aid agencies, malnutrition experts, and the United Nations. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned of a famine "playing out" in Gaza, and aid workers say that volumes of food entering the territory are too small to prevent more people from becoming malnourished.

The Gaza Health Ministry has reported a spike in deaths from malnutrition and starvation, with 89 fatalities attributed to these causes in the 22 months following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. In just the first 20 days of August, 133 deaths were reported, including 25 children under 18. Jeanette Bailey, a child nutrition lead at the International Rescue Committee, warned that "we are seeing the worst possible humanitarian catastrophe that we can even measure."

The most malnourished children are in the few hospitals still operating in Gaza, where doctors are scrambling for supplies of special therapeutic milks. Some ordinary baby formula, needed for those whose mothers are dead or unable to breastfeed, has entered Gaza since the aid blockade was loosened, but UNICEF estimates that at least 10,000 babies need formula. Without consistent entry and distribution of specialized supplementary feeding items, experts say a preventable crisis is turning into a widespread nutrition emergency.

Key Takeaways:

  • The hunger crisis in Gaza is at a tipping point, with critically low supplies of fortified milk and special nutritious pastes exacerbating food shortages and pushing children into starvation.
  • The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned of a famine "playing out" in Gaza, and aid workers say that volumes of food entering the territory are too small to prevent more people from becoming malnourished.
  • The Gaza Health Ministry has reported a spike in deaths from malnutrition and starvation, with 89 fatalities attributed to these causes in the 22 months following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
  • Children under 18 make up 25% of the 133 deaths reported in the first 20 days of August, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the crisis on the young.
  • Aid agencies, including UNICEF and the World Food Program, are warning of a massive need for specialized supplementary feeding items, high energy biscuits, and fortified foods to prevent widespread nutrition emergencies.
  • The war and blockade have decimated agriculture and fishing, leaving over 2 million people in Gaza reliant on imports, with most deaths attributed to malnutrition caused by other medical conditions.
  • Malnutrition experts say deaths among people with existing health problems are typical in the early stages of a hunger crisis, and that the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
  • The United Nations human rights office has accused Israel of "weaponizing" food for civilians, calling it a war crime, after documenting hundreds of people killed by the Israeli military as they tried to reach aid distribution sites.

Statistics:

  • In the 22 months following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, 89 fatalities were attributed to malnutrition or starvation in Gaza.
  • In just the first 20 days of August, 133 deaths were reported in Gaza, including 25 children under 18.
  • Over 12,000 children under five were recorded as suffering wasting from food shortages in the last month, with more than 2,500 having the most severe form of extreme weight loss.
  • Only 3% of 290,000 children under five who need supplements to prevent them sliding into severe malnourishment were reached in July.
  • UNICEF estimates that at least 10,000 babies need formula in Gaza.
  • The World Health Organization lists the average weight for girls of three months as nearly six kilograms, but Kholoud al-Aqra, a three-month-old girl, weighs only two kilograms.

Sources:

  • Reuters, "Gaza on brink of famine as aid agencies struggle to deliver food"
  • The United Nations human rights office, "Israel accused of 'weaponizing' food for civilians in Gaza"
  • The Gaza Health Ministry, "Malnutrition and starvation deaths spike in Gaza"
  • UNICEF, "Supplies of specialized supplementary feeding items insufficient to prevent further deterioration in Gaza"
  • World Health Organization, "WHO warns of widespread nutrition emergencies in Gaza"

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