Child malnutrition is rampant in Gaza, and famine is on the horizon according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA).
“Child malnutrition is spreading rapidly and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post.
More than five months into the Israeli air and ground campaign in Gaza, triggered by an October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, most of the enclave has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million residents are displaced and facing major humanitarian crisis.
Hospitals in Gaza speak of children dying from malnutrition and dehydration. The international food insecurity watchdog, IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), is expected to release a report soon on the extent of the famine crisis in Gaza.
For the IPC to declare a famine, at least 20% of the population must suffer from extreme food shortages, with one in three children facing acute malnutrition and two people in 10,000 dying every day from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
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