A quarter of children under five in Gaza are malnourished, says Doctors Without Borders
One in four children in Gaza between six months and five years old is now severely malnourished, according to new data from Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The same applies to pregnant and breastfeeding women, based on surveys carried out by the organisation in Gaza last week. The United Nations released the figures on Friday.
"Deliberate use of hunger as a weapon"
“This is a deliberate famine,” said Caroline Willemen, coordinator of the MSF clinic in Gaza City. At the clinic, the number of people suffering from malnutrition has quadrupled since 18 May. The number of malnourished children under five has tripled in the past two weeks alone.
“The deliberate use of hunger as a weapon of war by the Israeli authorities in Gaza has reached unprecedented proportions,” MSF warned in a press release. “Patients and healthcare workers themselves are also suffering from hunger.” Every day, MSF medical posts receive 25 new patients suffering from malnutrition.
MSF described the situation as a deliberate famine, “deliberately caused by the Israeli authorities as part of the current genocide campaign.” The press release continued: “Starving, killing, and injuring people desperately seeking help is unacceptable.”
Sharp increase in malnutrition
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is also drawing attention to the situation. “Nearly one in three people has not eaten for days. Malnutrition is rising sharply, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the agency stated. It warned that some 470,000 people are expected to face “catastrophic famine” in the Israeli-besieged Palestinian territory between May and September. With food prices skyrocketing, the WFP stressed that “food aid is the only way for the population to access food.”
While Israel continues to permit humanitarian aid through the controversial US-Israeli organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN reports that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have killed more than 1,000 people seeking aid since the end of May. On 20 July, MSF treated 122 people injured while queuing for flour at a GHF distribution point. 46 people died before they could reach the medical centre.
Displaced Palestinians try to take what remains in a pot of lentil soup at a food distribution point in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on July 25, 2025. © PHOTO OMAR AL-QATTA / AFP
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