“Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA wrote on X.
The UN agency stressed, “famine is looming. There is no time to waste.”
“We need safe, sustained and unimpeded access to deliver aid across the Gaza Strip. The needs are overwhelming in Gaza,” it added.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which 1,163 people were killed.
More than 31,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 73,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
