Aid agencies and the United Nations warn that the hunger crisis in Gaza has reached a critical tipping point, driven by a severe shortage of life-saving supplies like fortified milk and therapeutic pastes. This scarcity is exacerbating widespread food shortages and pushing an ever-increasing number of children into starvation. A comprehensive report from the global hunger monitor, the IPC, is imminent, following an interim statement in late July that declared famine was already “playing out” in the territory.
Despite a global outcry that prompted Israel to allow more aid into Gaza starting in late July, the volumes remain insufficient and the distribution too chaotic to stem the tide of malnutrition. Aid workers and hunger experts from multiple agencies report that the current efforts are failing to reach the most vulnerable with the specialized supplements they need to survive. The consequences are dire, with verified data showing a dramatic spike in deaths from malnutrition and starvation, particularly among children.
The figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, verified by the World Health Organisation, reveal a devastating acceleration of the crisis. While 89 deaths were attributed to malnutrition in the 22 months following October 7th, 2023, that number skyrocketed to 133 fatalities in just the first 20 days of August. A nutrition expert with the International Rescue Committee described the situation as “the worst possible humanitarian catastrophe that we can even measure,” predicting a significant increase in child deaths.
The most critically malnourished children are now concentrated in Gaza’s few remaining operational hospitals, where doctors are desperately scrambling for supplies of therapeutic milk. Israel disputes the Health Ministry’s figures, arguing the deaths are due to other medical causes and denying there is widespread malnutrition. However, with aid distribution failing to meet overwhelming needs and the health system on the brink of collapse, the humanitarian emergency continues to deepen.
