UN warns of 'alarming rate' in rise of malnourished children in Gaza

The UN on Friday warned that the number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip is rising at an "alarming rate" amid ongoing Israeli restrictions on aid, displacement, and attacks.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, citing figures by UNICEF at a news conference, said "the number of malnourished children in Gaza is rising at an alarming rate, with more than 5,100 children between six months and five years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone."

"The agency says this represents a nearly 50% increase compared to April and a 150% increase compared to February, when a ceasefire was in effect and aid was entering the Strip in significant quantities," he added.

According to UNICEF, over 16,700 children were admitted for malnutrition treatment in Gaza in the first five months of 2025, an average of 112 children each day.

"Each one of these cases is preventable. The food, water and nutrition treatments these children desperately need are being blocked from reaching them," said Dujarric.

He said "the equivalent of 1,000 truckloads of health, nutrition and other supplies are outside the borders, ready to be delivered."

Israeli authorities, Dujarric added, issued a new displacement order affecting two neighborhoods in the enclave, citing rocket fire from the area.

"This has affected two neighborhoods where hundreds of families are living," he said.

He said "no fuel has entered the strip for 16 weeks," and that Israel has facilitated 12 of the 21 UN-coordinated humanitarian missions on Thursday, while five were denied, and four were cancelled.

In the occupied West Bank, Dujarric warned of looming forced displacement in Masafer Yatta area, where Israel has rejected all pending and new planning and zoning requests, putting over 1,200 Palestinians at heightened risk.