Malnutrition deaths rise in Gaza, hit 66; WHO warns of extreme crisis
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Approximately 112 Palestinian children are being hospitalized every single day due to severe malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization.
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Jouri al-Masri, a little Palestinian baby from Gaza, has passed away due to the lack of formula and severe malnutrition (Social media; Credit: Ashraf Abu-Omra)
The death toll among children suffering from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 66, Gaza's Government Media Office announced, as "Israel's" ongoing blockade and closure of border crossings continue to strangle the flow of food and humanitarian supplies into the besieged territory.
The office cited the excruciating Israeli blockade as the cause of these deaths, with all crossings into Gaza still shut down, thus barring the entry of the much-needed aid.
The office said these actions constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity, stressing that the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon is a blatant violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions.
The statement called on the international community and Arab nations to urgently intervene to allow the entry of aid into Gaza.
112 Palestinian children hospitalized every day: WHO
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 112 Palestinian children are being hospitalized every single day due to severe malnutrition, an outcome directly tied to "Israel's" siege and military onslaught. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as having "surpassed catastrophic levels."
Gaza's hospitals, once the last line of defense against death by starvation, are now barely functional. Only 17 out of 36 medical facilities remain partially operational, and none are functioning at all in northern Gaza or in Rafah, two areas subjected to relentless Israeli bombing and forced displacement.
Dr. Tedros revealed that "at least 500 people have been killed while trying to access food at aid distribution points controlled by the US and Israel, which operate outside the United Nations system." He also stated that WHO had only limited access to Gaza this week, the first time since March, underscoring the systematic obstruction of humanitarian relief.
Infanticide
On Thursday, two more Palestinian infants died due to malnutrition in Khan Younis after being denied baby formula and basic medical care. The children's families held funeral prayers after their bodies were transferred from Nasser Hospital.
Speaking to reporters, Mahmoud Sharab, the uncle of five-month-old Nidal, confirmed that "lack of food and the absence of baby formula" killed his nephew. He warned that other infants in the hospital remain at risk unless they receive therapeutic milk and urgent nutritional aid. Mohammed al-Hams, father of 10-day-old Kinda, said his daughter died "due to malnutrition and lack of medicine."
In a post published on social media platform X, Director General of Gaza's Ministry of Health, Muneer Alboursh, shared the story of three-month-old Jouri Mohsen Ismail al-Masri, who died that morning in the pediatric ward of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. "Jouri carried no weapon… She only cried from hunger," he wrote. "But she found no milk to ease her pain, nor arms to protect her innocence." Her death, he noted, marked the 66th child to die from malnutrition in Gaza since the war began. "Sixty-six little angels lost — not to bombs, but to silence, to starvation."
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— Dr.Muneer Alboursh د.منيرالبرش (@Dr_Muneer1) June 27, 2025
🇵🇸🍼 جوري… شهيدة الحليب المفقود
استُشهدت صباح اليوم في قسم الأطفال بمستشفى شهداء الأقصى
الطفلة جوري محسن إسماعيل المصري، البالغة من العمر 3 شهور فقط،
جراء سوء التغذية ونقص الحليب.
جوري لم تكن تحمل سلاحًا… كانت فقط تبكي جوعًا.
لكنها لم تجد حليبًا يسد رمقها، ولا حضنًا يحمي…
Engineered famine
Palestinian medical sources now report that 244 people have died from hunger and lack of medication, the overwhelming majority of whom are children and elderly civilians.
With "Israel's" blockade stretching into its ninth month, entire communities are being intentionally starved, deprived of healthcare, and systematically displaced, hallmarks of what legal experts have described as genocidal warfare.
The crisis is compounded by the role of the United States, which continues to supply arms, diplomatic cover, and logistical support to "Israel" while aid convoys are blocked, bombed, or tightly controlled outside UN coordination.
Read more: Reproductive violence used as genocide tool in Gaza: UN
'Killing field'
Earlier today, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned what he called a "killing field" disguised as humanitarian aid. Referring to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a system established with Israeli military oversight and US private contractors, Lazzarini wrote on X: "Over 400 starving people reported killed since it started operating just a month ago. They were shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families."
He warned that the GHF model, which bypasses the UN and employs biometric screening and militarized distribution points, has "brought dehumanization, chaos and death," not relief. "This cannot become the new norm," he stressed.
Calling the mechanism an "abomination," Lazzarini urged an immediate return to UN-led humanitarian efforts, the lifting of the siege, and a ceasefire to end what he described as an engineered humanitarian catastrophe.
#Gaza: the new aid distribution system has become a killing field.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) June 27, 2025
Over 400 starving people reported killed since it started operating just a month ago.
They were shot at while trying to access food for themselves & their families.
Testimonies are coming out that soldiers…
