Gaza City, Palestine — At least 200,000 children in the Gaza Strip are now suffering from severe malnutrition, according to Amjad Shawa, director of the NGO Network in Gaza, who warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis fueled by food shortages and collapsing healthcare.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic, Shawa said that a lack of baby formula and vital nutritional supplements is contributing to a rising number of child deaths across the besieged enclave. “This is not just a health emergency — it’s a matter of survival,” he said. “Children are dying from hunger-related causes.”
The impact is not limited to infants and children. Shawa also highlighted that pregnant women are living in extremely harsh conditions, deprived of basic nutrients and medical support. With supply lines strangled and aid deliveries sporadic or blocked, many expectant mothers are unable to receive adequate prenatal care.
The Gaza Strip has faced months of Israeli blockade and ongoing instability, which has devastated the region’s infrastructure and paralyzed its health system. International agencies have repeatedly warned of famine-like conditions, but the situation continues to deteriorate.
Local hospitals, already under immense strain, report being unable to cope with the rising number of children arriving with wasting, stunted growth, and weakened immune systems.
Aid groups are calling for urgent and unrestricted humanitarian access to deliver life-saving nutrition and medical supplies to the region. “This crisis is not inevitable — it is preventable,” Shawa said. “But only if the world chooses to act.”
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