Critical Risk Of Famine For Children In Gaza
Fighting has surged again, border crossings are still closed and food is dangerously scarce, leaving Palestinian children facing catastrophic hunger and acute malnutrition. UNICEF is there, doing what it can to support and protect children.
On May 7, 2025, at Al Farooq Camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, a woman holds a small child clutching a sachet of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). UNICEF has established a dedicated clinic in the camp to identify and treat children suffering from acute malnutrition. For over two months, the blockade has prevented vital medical and nutrition supplies from entering the Gaza Strip, leaving an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 children in need of therapeutic care each month. At this clinic, trained staff conduct MUAC (mid-upper-arm circumference) screenings and distribute RUTF to help restore children's health and build their resilience.
© UNICEF/UNI792833/Rawan Eleyan. All rights reserved.
A new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report warns that the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing high levels of acute food insecurity; 470,000 (one in five) face starvation. Nearly 71,000 children under the age of 5 and more than 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months.
Confirmed by 17 UN agencies and NGOs, the report projects that renewed military operations, the ongoing blockade and the critical lack of supplies needed for survival could push food insecurity, acute malnutrition and mortality levels past the famine thresholds.
'The only thing children are seeing coming into Gaza are bombs and missiles.'
UNICEF ramped up delivery during the ceasefire, sending nearly 1,000 truckloads of lifesaving aid including vaccines, nutrition supplies and medical equipment. Those stocks are now running dangerously low.
'The only thing children are seeing coming into Gaza are bombs and missiles,' said UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder.
Children and adults are surrounded by damaged and destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on May 12, 2025. Low supply and high demand have sent prices soaring – today, a 55-pound bag of flour costs $300.
© UNICEF/UNI794465/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved.
Despite the aid blockade that began on March 2, UNICEF remains on the ground, working to meet children's most urgent needs. Between March and April, UNICEF managed to:
On May 8, 2025 in Deir al-Balah, located in the central Gaza Strip, people gather to fill jerry cans with clean, drinkable water from a UNICEF-supported desalination plant before loading them onto donkey carts for transport.
© UNICEF/UNI793029/Rawan Eleyan. All rights reserved.
UNICEF is also working to provide mental health and psychosocial support for children in Gaza, where the daily stress of living in a war zone for 19 months, not knowing where or when the next air strike will occur, has taken a heavy toll.
Renewed hostilities forced some UNICEF temporary learning spaces to close; now UNICEF is re-opening locations in the Middle and Al Nuseirat areas of central Gaza to help children resume their learning despite disruptions.
To date, more than 50,000 children have benefited from these safe learning environments, where they receive structured lessons in Arabic, English and mathematics, alongside recreational activities that restore a sense of normalcy and protect their right to education.
Learn more about UNICEF's ongoing support for children in Gaza
On May 11, 2025, children participate in a geometry activity at a UNICEF-supported temporary learning space at Al Nakheel Camp in Deir El Balah, Gaza Strip.
© UNICEF/UNI794478/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved.
Approximately 90 percent of Gaza's population — roughly 1.9 million people — have been displaced, often multiple times, cutting off families from their livelihoods. Their farmland has been destroyed and the sea they used for fishing has been restricted. Families are rationing remaining food supplies received during the ceasefire.
To help parents feed their children, UNICEF reached 200,000 people with humanitarian cash transfers through digital e-wallets between March and April. But with all border crossings closed since March 2 — the longest the population has ever faced — food prices in markets have spiked to astronomical levels, putting what little food is available out of reach for most families.
'The risk of famine does not arrive suddenly," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "It unfolds in places where access to food is blocked, where health systems are decimated and where children are left without the bare minimum to survive."
"Hunger and acute malnutrition are a daily reality for children across the Gaza Strip," Russell continued. "We have repeatedly warned of this trajectory and call again on all parties to prevent a catastrophe.'
Shelves are nearly bare in a shop in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025.
© UNICEF/UNI794462/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved.
More than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance — enough to feed 1 million people for up to four months — is already positioned in aid corridors, ready to be brought in. Hundreds of pallets of lifesaving nutrition treatments are also prepositioned for entry.
'Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border," said UN World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McClalin. "We can't get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March. It's imperative that the international community acts urgently to get aid flowing into Gaza again. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.'
United Nations agencies including UNICEF and WFP stand ready to work with all stakeholders and food security partners to bring in these food and nutrition supplies and distribute them as soon as borders reopen for principled aid delivery.
UNICEF urges all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians, allow aid to enter Gaza immediately and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Help UNICEF save more lives. Donate today.
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
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