Gaza is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, with at least 273 people, including 112 children, having died from malnutrition since October. Dr Ahmad Al-Farra, director of Al-Tahrir Hospital for Pediatrics and Maternity in Khan Younis, described the situation as “critical and dangerous,” warning that prolonged hunger is putting children at risk of irreversible harm. The hospital’s pediatric nutrition clinic, operating just two days a week, now diagnoses over 50 new malnutrition cases daily, many far exceeding expected levels.

One of the most severe cases is 18-month-old Shahd Zaarab, weighing just 5.8 kilograms, less than half the healthy average. “She is a skeleton covered in skin,” Al-Farra said, highlighting the extreme toll of the blockade on Gaza’s youngest and most vulnerable. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed famine conditions in northern Gaza, warning that these could spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.

The Gaza Ministry of Health accused Israeli authorities of enabling armed groups to intercept and loot aid convoys at border crossings, describing it as “complicity in a humanitarian disaster.” With more than 62,000 killed, 157,000 wounded, hundreds of thousands displaced, and limited access to clean water, shelter, and medical care, local officials and humanitarian organisations warn that urgent, unrestricted aid is essential to prevent further deaths.