The number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip is rising at an alarming rate, with 5,119 children between 6 months and 5 years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone.

According to data received from the UNICEF-supported nutrition centres across the Gaza Strip, this represents a nearly 50 per cent increase from the 3,444 children admitted in April 2025 and a 150 per cent increase from February when a ceasefire was in effect and aid was entering the Gaza Strip in significant quantities.

Of the 5,119 children admitted in May, 636 children have severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the most lethal form of malnutrition. These children need consistent, supervised treatment, safe water, and medical care to survive – all of which are increasingly scarce in Gaza today. The number of children with SAM has surged 146 per cent since February.

“In just 150 days, from the start of the year until the end of May, 16,736 children – an average of 112 children a day – have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder. “Every one of these cases is preventable. The food, water, and nutrition treatments they desperately need are being blocked from reaching them. Man-made decisions that are costing lives. Israel must urgently allow the large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings.”