TEHRAN – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported a surprising, sharp rise in child malnutrition in Gaza, reaching 13.5% last month.
UNICEF warns that acute malnutrition rates among children in the Gaza Strip are rising at an astonishing pace.
According to UNICEF, the latest data shows an unprecedented surge in severe malnutrition among children tested in August.
The proportion of children suffering from acute malnutrition increased to 13.5% last month, up from 8.3% in July.
In Gaza, where hunger was confirmed last month, the percentage of children who had malnutrition rose even higher than 16% in July.
However, fewer children were screened in August as 10 outpatient treatment centres in Gaza and Northern Gaza had to close due to an occupation regime evacuation order and an increase in Israeli massacre.
In July, 13,000 children were identified as severely malnourished when more screening capabilities and less Israeli massacres were found in northern Gaza.
UNICEF Executive Director Katherine Russell stressed that one in five children in Gaza was diagnosed with acute malnutrition in August, and the urgent need for additional life-saving nutritional support provided by UNICEF.
Russell also said UNICEF could bring more supplies to Gaza, but military escalations have shut down nutrition centres, making children even more vulnerable.
Save the Childrens reported that over 20,000 children were killed in Gaza, an average of one Palestinian child per hour by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) over a genocide of nearly 23 months.
According to statistics from the Gaza Ministry of Health, deaths caused by starvation in Gaza reached around 411, including 142 children. International humanitarian organizations believe that the number could increase.
The United Nations Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) issued a disastrous warning about the devastating situation in Gaza, which was blocked for about two years by the ongoing bombing and blockade of the Israeli occupation regime.
On Friday, Unrwa warned of the harsh reality facing civilians, highlighting the situation is deteriorating every day due to rising food insecurity and the essential collapse of services.
The agency emphasized that civilians do not have a safe place amid escalating IOF attacks and continuing lockdowns.
Unrwa is urgently calling for ceasefire contracts before it is too late, warning of looming humanitarian disasters if the crisis continues.
The UN agency also reaffirmed concerns about the surprising rise in child malnutrition rates in Gaza.
The IOF, an Israeli occupation force, continues to indiscriminately attack civilian regions throughout the Gaza Strip, continuing a sharp rise in air strikes and artillery bombardment targeting Gaza city in the north.
After facing difficulties to invade from the east and southeast, especially in the Zeitoun district, the IOF resorted to leveling large sections of the city.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unable to comply with evacuation orders due to fatigue, hunger and lack of safe shelters have been born into the brunt of the attack.
The massive destruction of the IOF in Gaza city has led to more than 50,000 people becoming homeless within a week, according to Mahmoud Base, a spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense.
A report on Friday said one IOF airstrike in Gaza city killed 14 members of the same family over three generations.
The IOF killed at least 50 Palestinians on Friday, and the number was expected to grow. A day ago, the IOF massacred at least 72 Palestinians and injured 356 people.
The death toll from US-backed Israeli genocide in besieged territory is 65,000, with about 165,000 injured. A study citing IOF’s own data revealed that the majority of victims are women and children.