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WHO: Over 400 Deaths from Malnutrition in Gaza So Far This Year, Including 101 Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that more than 400 people in Gaza have died due to malnutrition in 2025, including 101 children—80 of whom were under the age of five.

Dr. Rana Abu Zaatir, Head of the Department of Therapeutic Nutrition at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, highlighted the worsening situation:

“We are seeing a significant increase in malnutrition cases, particularly among children. In addition to the rise in cases among those under five, we are now receiving growing numbers of patients aged five to twelve suffering from severe malnutrition and related medical complications. Alarmingly, we have also begun treating infants as young as two months old.”

Currently, only four malnutrition stabilization centers remain operational across Gaza. Northern Gaza, in particular, has been cut off from food aid for several weeks, leading to critical shortages of life-saving therapeutic foods.

“There are already large numbers of both children and adults who have died as a result of malnutrition and its complications,” Dr. Abu Zaatir added. “Without urgent action to reopen crossings and address the soaring cost of basic necessities, the situation will escalate into a full-scale catastrophe. The people of Gaza are at risk of being unable to meet even the most basic nutritional requirements for survival.”

A file image from July 28, 2025, shows seven-month-old Salem Awad, suffering from severe malnutrition, lying on a mattress inside his family’s tent in Gaza City—a stark reminder of the human toll of the crisis.

On Monday, the World Food Programme (WFP) noted some improvement in humanitarian access across Gaza. However, the agency emphasized that unrestricted access to the north must be urgently restored. The WFP also reiterated its call for a ceasefire to allow for the large-scale delivery of food assistance to those in greatest need.

According to UN-backed experts, approximately 500,000 people in the Gaza City area have already been classified as being in famine conditions.

Main Image: CNN

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