WHO Reports Acute Malnutrition Crisis among Gaza's Children amid Israeli Siege
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that over 8,000 children under the age of five in Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition due to the ongoing Israeli military actions and blockade.
The WHO has reported that the Israeli regime's continued war on the Gaza Strip has resulted in more than 8,000 children, under five years old, experiencing acute malnutrition.
"This number includes 1,600 children with severe acute malnutrition," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the organization, on Wednesday.
On the same day, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that nearly 3,000 children are at risk of dying in front of their families, having been cut off from treatment for severe acute malnutrition in southern Gaza.
"However, due to insecurity and lack of access, only two stabilization centers for severely malnourished patients can operate," Ghebreyesus added.
The Israeli regime initiated the conflict on October 7, following Al-Aqsa Storm, a retaliatory operation by Gaza's resistance groups, during which approximately 250 people were taken captive.
Alongside the military actions, Israel has imposed a near-total siege on Gaza, drastically reducing the supply of food, medicine, electricity, and water to the Palestinian territory.
The brutal military campaign has claimed the lives of at least 37,202 Palestinians, primarily women and children.
The WHO chief further stated that Gaza's entire population is now facing "catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions."
As early as March, the UN warned that without changes in the situation, Gaza was on the path to all-out famine.
"Once a famine is declared, it is too late for too many people," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at the time.
