The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that 9 out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip lack sufficient nutrients to ensure their healthy growth and development.
“In the Gaza Strip, months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have led to the collapse of food and health systems, with catastrophic consequences for children and their families,” UNICEF added.
The organization stated that 5 sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 found that 9 out of every 10 children in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to Israeli bombing since last October, “suffer from acute food poverty, which means that they are underfed “On two or fewer food groups per day to survive.”
To meet the minimum level of dietary diversity for healthy development, “children must consume foods from at least 5 of the 8 food groups determined by the dietary diversity score used by UNICEF and WHO.”
UNICEF considered this situation in Gaza “evidence of the horrific impact of the conflict and restrictions on the ability of families to meet children’s nutritional needs and of the rapid rate at which children are exposed to the risk of life-threatening malnutrition.”
Israel claims it imposes no restrictions on humanitarian supplies to civilians in Gaza and has blamed the United Nations for slow aid deliveries, saying its operations are ineffective.
But with the specter of famine emerging in areas of Gaza and some children dying from malnutrition and dehydration, even Israel’s strongest allies have increased pressure on it to do more to allow food in.