At least 57 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza since March 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday. The deaths come amid a worsening aid blockade that has severely restricted food and medical supplies from reaching the population.
Speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva, Richard Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for the West Bank and Gaza, called the situation “one of the world’s worst hunger crises.” He said the entire population of Gaza — around 2.1 million people — now faces extreme famine risk due to 19 months of war, displacement, and limited aid access.
Data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) shows that 93% of Gaza’s population — about 1.95 million people — are facing crisis-level hunger. Of those, 244,000 people are in IPC Phase 5, which indicates catastrophic hunger, while 925,000 are in Phase 4, meaning emergency conditions.
Peeperkorn warned that if the crisis continues, up to 71,000 children under the age of five could become acutely malnourished over the next year. Additionally, nearly 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women remain at serious risk due to a lack of food and medical care.
The WHO is currently supporting 19 treatment centers for malnutrition in Gaza, but supplies are dangerously low. The organization says it only has enough resources to treat about 500 children, far below the actual need. It also cited a collapse of healthcare services, widespread disease, and a lack of clean water as factors worsening the crisis.
Meanwhile, violence continues to claim lives. Shortly after the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander during a temporary pause in fighting, Israeli airstrikes resumed. Attacks on a shelter in Khan Younis and a school in northern Gaza left several civilians dead and many injured. According to Palestinian health authorities, nearly 52,900 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with the majority being women and children.