UNRWA Announces 28% of Gaza's Children Face Acute Malnutrition

28 percent of children under the age of two in Gaza suffer from acute malnutrition

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced on Monday that 28 percent of children under the age of two in Kan Younis and the central Gaza Strip suffer from acute malnutrition, due to the continuing war on the Gaza Strip and the lack of food and medicine.

In a statement, UNRWA said that at least 23 children have died due to malnutrition and dehydration in recent weeks in the northern Gaza Strip, especially since more than 10 percent of children under the age of two suffer from severe emaciation in those areas due to starvation, thirst, and lack of basic life necessities.

The agency pointed out that the first half of March witnessed the crossing of an average of 165 aid trucks daily into the Gaza Strip, stressing that this number remains far below the operational capacity of both border crossings, or the stated target, which is 500 trucks per day.

The israeli authorities have only facilitated the entry of 25 percent of the scheduled aid into the northern Gaza Strip so far, UNRWA added.

Since Oct. 7, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to an israeli siege and aggression that has caused famine in the Strip, resulting in the killing of 31,726 Palestinians - including 13,450 children, and the injury of 73,792 others, while thousands of Palestinians remain missing.

Source: QNA