The United Nations has warned that Gaza is witnessing the highest rate of severe child malnutrition ever recorded, with 18% of children under five now affected. In July alone, 136,000 children were screened, and 12,000 were found to be severely malnourished, including 2,500 whose lives are in immediate danger. UN officials say the crisis has been fuelled by Israel’s ongoing blockade and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid, which reached only 3% of children in need last month.

Hospitals across the Strip are overwhelmed with starving patients, from infants to the elderly, many arriving in skeletal condition, too weak to stand or even speak. Doctors report a sharp rise in deaths from hunger, while cases of fainting in public spaces have become increasingly common as food supplies dwindle to nothing.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health warns that famine has reached catastrophic proportions, threatening the lives of more than two million people. With the blockade now in place for over 140 days, and food and medicine still barred from entering in sufficient quantities, health officials say the crisis can only be averted if the siege is lifted and large-scale humanitarian aid is allowed in immediately.