As Israel continues to enforce a suffocating siege on Gaza, at least 66 children have died of malnutrition, Gaza health authorities said, citing a worsening humanitarian crisis exacerbated by blocked aid and food shortages.
The deaths highlight the deepening catastrophe unfolding in the war-ravaged enclave, where a scarcity of infant food and essential medical supplies has placed thousands of young lives at risk. The Gaza Health Ministry, whose reports are deemed credible by the United Nations, described the situation as a “crime against childhood.”
In the past 24 hours alone, Israeli forces reportedly killed at least 60 Palestinians, including 30 in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City. The intensifying hostilities have further hindered aid efforts, drawing condemnation from international organisations and rights bodies.
The Gaza Government Media Office denounced the international community’s “shameful silence”, accusing global powers — including the United States, United Kingdom, and France — of complicity in what it described as “genocide through starvation.”
‘Man-made catastrophe’
UNICEF, the UN’s children’s agency, issued a dire warning on the rapidly escalating malnutrition crisis. “In less than six months, from the start of the year until May 2025, 16,736 children – an average of 112 children a day – have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip,” said Edouard Beigbeder, the agency’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
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He noted a staggering 50 per cent increase in May admissions compared to April and a 150 per cent rise from February, when a ceasefire allowed aid to reach Gaza. According to UNICEF, all such cases were “entirely preventable.”
“This ongoing catastrophe is because of man-made decisions costing lives. Israel must urgently allow the large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings,” the agency stated.
Weaponising food as a tool of war
Several humanitarian organisations have criticised Israel’s Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) programme, accusing it of using food as a weapon. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) earlier called it a “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.”
The crisis has been compounded by comments from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who previously remarked that starving two million Palestinians was “justified” but “the world would not allow it.” The remarks have been widely interpreted as reflecting state-level intent to “weaponise aid,” using starvation as a method of warfare.
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have expressed alarm at the pace at which the malnutrition crisis is spiralling. In May alone, 5,119 children aged between six months and five years were treated for acute malnutrition — a sharp rise from previous months.
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