The father of Yahya Fadi al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, holds his body during the funeral at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Gaza: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that over one million children in Gaza are currently suffering from hunger due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.
In a statement released on Sunday, UNRWA accused Israeli authorities of deliberately starving civilians in Gaza, including a staggering number of children.
The agency called for the immediate lifting of the blockade and urgent humanitarian access, demanding the entry of food, medicine, and essential supplies needed for survival.
Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2025. Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP
UNRWA further warned that the rate of malnutrition among children under the age of five has sharply increased between March and June this year, directly linked to the tightened siege on the Gaza Strip.
According to the agency, its health centers and medical points conducted nearly 74,000 screenings for malnutrition during this period. These screenings revealed approximately 5,500 cases of severe acute malnutrition and more than 800 cases of very severe acute malnutrition.
