More than 7,000 children under the age of five were put on recovery programmes for acute malnutrition at clinics run by Unicef in Gaza in just two weeks of last month, figures reveal.
The overall total for August is being compiled by Unicef but is expected to exceed 15,000 new patients, more than seven times the total in February.
A famine was declared in Gaza City, in the north of the devastated territory, last month, but other towns farther south are “fast catching up”, officials from the agency said.
“On the ground, it is crystal clear that people are starving, that there is a famine unfolding in Gaza City, and Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis [two southern cities in Gaza] are not far behind,” said Tess Ingram, a spokesperson with Unicef who has spent recent days in Gaza City.
Ingram said she had spoken to a malnourished mother unable to breastfeed her malnourished eight-month-old there.
“She and her husband were sharing a cup of rice a day. The situation is horrific,” Ingram added.
Gaza City, once a busy commercial and cultural hub, is now the target of a new Israeli offensive which threatens to displace its million or more estimated inhabitants. Israeli officials have described the city as a “bastion” of Hamas.
Israel’s military has ordered Palestinians to leave the city for the south before the assault, but has given no timeline for the offensive, which it has previously indicated would not be announced in advance.
The offensive threatens to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians weakened by nearly two years of bombing, malnutrition, and now, famine. Many will previously have been displaced, some repeatedly, and some Gaza City residents have said they will refuse to endure it again.
In May, Israel eased a two-month total blockade on supplies entering Gaza but supplies remain inadequate.
UN agencies are working to overcome massive logistic difficulties, continuing Israeli restrictions and bureaucratic obstacles to supply a small number of community kitchens and bakeries, while private commercial trucks transport limited quantities of rice, sugar, instant noodles and other dry foodstuffs. Fresh vegetables are rare and cost as much as $50 (£37) for a kilo, a price few can afford.
“The story is the same – a bowl a day from the community kitchen, almost always lentils or rice, shared amongst the family, parents skipping so children can eat. No nutrients. No other options – aid is scarce, and the market is far too expensive,” said Ingram.
Residents have described being faced with an “impossible choice”: to remain in makeshift homes in Gaza City and hope to survive a possible Israeli onslaught or flee to massively overcrowded coastal areas where there is little space and almost no services, water supplies or health provision.
Aid workers in al-Mawasi, the main coastal zone designated by Israel for those fleeing Gaza City, say hundreds of thousands of displaced people are already packed on to its sandy dunes and fields. A tent-sized plot on any land that remains clear costs the equivalent of $300 per month and there is little room for new arrivals.
“Water supply is insufficient, the tents and shelters are very flimsy, there’s no garbage or solid waste disposal to speak of, no shade and no room for anyone else already … It’s totally unfit for human habitation even now,” said one aid worker in al-Mawasi.
Israeli officials blame the UN for failing to distribute aid and have repeatedly claimed Hamas is stealing much of the assistance, though an internal US government report said this was not true.
Last month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised organisation that classifies the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition, found three key thresholds for famine had been met in Gaza City.
Children are among the most vulnerable. From 2,000 in February, enrolments in Unicef clinics in Gaza for under-fives with acute malnutrition had risen to 5,500 in May. In July, the total reached more than 15,000.
The number of under-fives screened by Unicef went from 82,000 to 144,000 over the period. Those admitted for severe acute malnutrition, the most serious category, went from 20 in March to 40 in July, though this was down from a peak of more than 50 the previous month.
Despite opposition from within the military high command, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, remains committed to the new offensive. Wide gaps remain between Israel’s demands and those of Hamas, and any ceasefire currently looks unlikely.
Far-right members of the ruling coalition have threatened to bring down Netanyahu’s government if Israel makes concessions to bring back about 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom fewer than 20 are thought to be alive.
On Friday, Israel’s military announced in a statement it would target a range of structures identified as being used by Hamas, particularly tall buildings.
“In the coming days, the [Israeli military] will strike structures that have been converted into terrorist infrastructure in Gaza City: cameras, observation command centres, sniper and anti-tank firing positions, command-and-control compounds,” the statement said.
Last week, officials said Israel would stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the number of aid trucks arriving in the north as the new offensive ramps up and preparations are made to order hundreds of thousands of people south.
The UN and partners have said the pauses, airdrops and other measures fell far short of the 600 trucks of aid needed daily in Gaza.
The current war started after a Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 which killed 1,200, mostly civilians, and led to 250 being abducted. The Israeli offensive which followed has killed more than 63,000, mostly civilians, and destroyed much of Gaza.
Clea Skopeliti contributed to this report
