Recently, 21 children have died in Palestine due to malnutrition and starvation, according to Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
These deaths occurred in multiple hospitals throughout Gaza, including Al-Shifa in Gaza City, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, and Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Children are succumbing not only to lack of food but also to treatment-depleting conditions exacerbated by shortages of essential medical supplies and fuel. Among those who died of starvation was a 1 ½ month-old infant.
The Gaza Strip’s population of more than 2 million is facing extreme shortages of food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity due to the Israeli blockade imposed in March 2025. Though aid was partially reintroduced in May, it remains insufficient and hampered by logistical obstacles.
UNICEF, WHO, and other humanitarian bodies describe the situation as “critical,” with nearly 900,000 children suffering from hunger and approximately 70,000 in a state of clinical malnutrition.
From March 2 to May 2025, the World Health Organisation reported that 57 children died from malnutrition alone. Beyond starvation, the deaths, including those from dehydration, disease, and violence, have soared above 101, 80 of whom are children.
