GENEVA, July 23 (KUNA) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday of a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths in the Gaza Strip, confirming that in 2025 alone, the organization has documented 21 deaths related to malnutrition of children under five years old.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference that since July 17, malnutrition centers are at full capacity without enough supplies for emergency feeding, adding that the 2.1 million people in Gaza are facing another killer on top of bombs and bullets; starvation.
He pointed out that rates of global acute malnutrition exceed 10 percent and that over 20 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women that have been screened are malnourished often severely.
Ghebreyesus emphasized that the hunger crisis is being accelerated by the collapse of aid pipelines and restrictions on UN and humanitarian partners, who have been unable to deliver any food to the Gaza Strip for nearly 80 consecutive days; from early March to mid-May 2025, due to a complete blockade on humanitarian and commercial access.
He further warned that "food distribution sites have become places of violence", confirming that from May 27 to July 21, health authorities report 1,026 people have been killed in Gaza while trying to get food from these sites.
On water shortage, Ghebreyesus said that 95 percent of households in Gaza face severe water shortages with daily access far below the minimum needed for drinking, cooking, and hygiene.
He also highlighted that nearly 90 percent of the land in Gaza is now under evacuation orders or within Israeli occupation-militarized zones.
Ghebreyesus added that hospitals have regularly been attacked, with many no longer functioning, while others are operating at minimal capacity due to repeated attacks, fuel shortages, and a lack of supplies due to limited access.
WHO Representative in Gaza Rik Peeperkorn said that in July alone, more than 5,000 children have been enrolled in therapeutic feeding programmers, including 880 children suffering from catastrophic levels of severe acute malnutrition.
Peeperkorn added that the number of children under five suffering from acute malnutrition in 2025 is approaching 30,000 cases, warning that this figure reflects the severity of the crisis, especially given limited reporting and difficulty in data collection under current conditions. (end) imk.sas