One in four children and pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned, as hunger-related deaths mount according to local authorities and the Israeli siege continues to deprive the population of basic necessities.
“Over the past few weeks, the number of admitted children under the age of 5 suffering from acute malnutrition has tripled,” said Enass Abu-Khalaf, MSF’s communications chief for the Middle East and North Africa.
“One in every four children and pregnant women are suffering from malnutrition. On a daily basis, we admit around 25 malnutrition cases.”
The warning comes as Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 14 more deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Monday (28 July), including two children, bringing the total to at least 147 since 7 October, 2023.
Among the dead are at least 88 children.
The United Nations World Food Program described the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report as not just a “warning” but a critical “call to action.” The report cited a worsening famine scenario due to ongoing military operations, widespread displacement, and the breakdown of food and medical access.
Among the clearest examples of this deepening crisis is the story of one-and-a-half-year-old Mohammad Al-Motawwaq, whose emaciated body has come to symbolize the impact of starvation on Gaza’s youngest victims.
In a makeshift tent in western Gaza City, Mohammad Al-Motawwaq lies motionless, his withered body a stark image of Gaza’s spiraling hunger crisis.
Images of Mohammad have circulated online, with some Israeli social media users denying that malnutrition is to blame.
However, Suzan Marouf, a clinical nutrition specialist at the Patient Friend’s Hospital, confirmed that his condition deteriorated directly due to a lack of food and medical supplies.
“The medical issues he had weren’t significantly affecting his weight,” Marouf said. “But once the siege and the closure of crossings depleted hospitals’ medicine stocks and nutritional supplements, Mohammad’s condition deteriorated to acute malnutrition.”
Mohammad had been diagnosed with moderate malnutrition and congenital issues, including brain complications and muscle atrophy.
Doctors had been stabilizing him with the last of their nutritional resources before they ran out.
Marouf warned that child deaths from hunger are likely to rise “if the current situation continues.”
As child malnutrition cases surge, Gaza’s hospitals are buckling under the strain, lacking even the most basic resources to provide adequate care.
Like many medical facilities in Gaza, Patient Friend’s Hospital is operating without baby formula, supplements, or enough beds—forcing two children to share a single mattress.
MSF facilities are facing similar breakdowns, especially in neonatal care. “We don’t have enough incubators. We don’t have formula for premature babies. Even our intensive care units are struggling,” said Abu-Khalaf.
She added that the situation in Gaza, where MSF has worked continuously for 25 years, is worse than ever.
Mohammad’s mother, Hidaya Al-Motawwaq, said her son has lost nearly 3 kilograms in recent weeks.
“Before the latest displacement, Mohammad weighed 9 kilograms. At that time, food was available, and we could meet our children’s needs,” she said.
“But now the occupation is waging war on us and our children. The lack of food and the ongoing famine have deeply affected my son Mohammad,” she added.
She said he once responded well to physical therapy and proper nutrition, even standing and laughing like other children. “But now, with skyrocketing prices, I can’t even provide him with formula milk or diapers.”
Following the family’s most recent displacement, Mohammad’s condition rapidly worsened.
Severe malnutrition led to further muscle atrophy, serious health complications, and left him unable to stand or move.
“Sometimes, when Mohammad wakes up crying at night, I give him water instead of milk—just to silence his hunger,” she said.
Hidaya appealed to the international community. “Please look at my son Mohammad’s case and provide him with the most basic things — his daily milk and diapers.”
MSF has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and the lifting of the siege, but those appeals have gone unheeded.
“This is a turning point in the history of humanitarian aid,” Abu-Khalaf said. “What is entering Gaza today is a drop in the ocean.”
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Gaza's food stocks have been running out since Israel cut off all supplies in March. That blockade was lifted in May but with restrictions that, Israel says, are needed to prevent aid being diverted to Hamas.
Also, Israel denies it's using starvation as a weapon. On Tuesday Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called claims of starvation “lies.”
Last Sunday Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran see...
At least 132 people have died and 570 have been injured after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, the Colombian Association ...
Türkiye’s parliament on Monday approved a key piece of legislation underpinning the government’s effort to end decades of conflict with the Kurdi...
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
One hundred years after the First World War and more than eighty years after the devastation of the Second World War gave rise to the United Nations, humanity once again finds itself living in an age of permanent crisis.
For months, efforts to secure the Red Sea have focused on what is happening in the water. Naval deployments have increased, governments have expanded maritime cooperation and shipping companies have adapted to persistent security threats.
Greenland has issued a “strong warning” to a U.S. oil company linked to President Donald Trump after drilling equipment was brought ashore without the required government approvals, according to British media.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Türkiye’s parliament on Monday approved a key piece of legislation underpinning the government’s effort to end decades of conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), moving the so-called Terror-Free Türkiye initiative closer to implementation.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 11th of August, covering the latest developments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy additional North Korean forces on its territory and has received more ballistic missiles from Pyongyang, arguing that their growing military cooperation poses a threat beyond Ukraine.
Firefighters were continuing to battle a massive blaze at the Zawiya refinery on Tuesday as Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it could declare force majeure and completely halt operations if drone attacks on oil assets in the city continued.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment