UNICEF: 5,800 children diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza in June

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced on Sunday that more than 5,800 Palestinian children were diagnosed with malnutrition in the Gaza Strip during June.

A famine is spreading in Gaza, claiming the lives of many, including dozens of children, as a result of an Israeli war of extermination that includes a siege and systematic starvation, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip.

UNICEF said, via the X platform, "More than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza last June."

She explained that this includes "more than a thousand children suffering from severe acute malnutrition."

UNICEF reported that this figure represents "an increase for the fourth consecutive month."

She stressed the need to "deliver aid quickly and on a large scale" to Palestinians in Gaza.

For 18 years, Israel has been besieging Gaza, leaving approximately 1.5 million Palestinians out of a population of approximately 2.4 million in the Strip homeless after their homes were destroyed in the war of extermination.

Earlier on Sunday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned, via its Twitter account, of a rise in malnutrition cases in Gaza since last March, due to Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid.

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza's crossings to aid trucks piled up at the border, allowing only a few dozen trucks into the Strip, while Palestinians in the Strip need at least 500 trucks per day.

The agency said that cases of malnutrition have increased in its clinics since the Israeli government tightened the blockade.

She informed him that "since March, UNRWA has not been allowed to deliver any humanitarian aid to the area."

She added that there are severe restrictions on essential medical supplies.

The agency continued, saying that medical staff had to prioritize patients with critical illnesses, especially children affected by malnutrition.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide, with American support, left more than 196,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, more than 10,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced.