Despite the announcement of a ceasefire plan, signaling a glimmer of hope for increased aid to Gaza, severe hunger persists in the region.
A recent study by researchers from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), published in the Lancet medical journal, revealed that over 54,600 children under five in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition.
The study utilized upper-arm measurements of children aged six months to five years to assess the prevalence of “acute wasting,” the most critical stage of malnutrition requiring immediate therapeutic intervention.
Children with arm circumferences below 125 millimeters were enrolled in UNRWA’s feeding program. According to Unicef, children experiencing acute wasting are extremely underweight with weakened immune systems, leaving them vulnerable to developmental delays and diseases.
This comprehensive study, conducted between January 2024 and August 2025, involved over 219,000 children at 16 operational health centers and 78 medical points, providing crucial insights into child hunger in the region.
Dr. Masako Horino, the lead author of the study and a nutrition epidemiologist, emphasized the dire situation, stating that after years of conflict and limited humanitarian aid, many preschool-aged children in Gaza are now facing preventable acute malnutrition, putting them at a higher risk of mortality.
As of August 2025, UNRWA reported that 15.8% of screened children were suffering from acute wasting, with malnutrition levels worsening during conflicts and blockades but easing during temporary ceasefires.
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Dr. Prabhat Jha, a global health professor at the University of Toronto and University of Oxford, expressed shock at the study’s findings, highlighting the fluctuation of malnutrition levels based on the amount of food aid entering Gaza.
Three experts in child health, nutrition, and public policy, not involved in the study, described the research as providing definitive evidence of the extent of malnourishment among Gaza’s children.
They emphasized the urgent need for sustained humanitarian assistance to address the alarming levels of malnutrition and starvation affecting the children.
In response to reports of starvation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the claims, attributing them to propaganda by Hamas and denying any hunger crisis in Gaza.