Malnutrition and starvation rates in the Gaza Strip have reached critical and catastrophic proportions, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This deterioration persists despite a heavily promoted ceasefire brokered by the United States regime, which supposedly aimed to facilitate the unhindered flow of food and medical supplies into the besieged enclave.

In a statement released to mark World Food Day, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 466 Palestinians have died from malnutrition and starvation since 2024, with children accounting for a staggering one-third of these fatalities. The data underscores the severe humanitarian toll exacted by prolonged conflict and systemic supply restrictions.

Elderly Palestinians bore the heaviest burden of malnutrition-related deaths, recording 189 fatalities or 40.5 percent of the total. The ministry revealed that 11 percent of older individuals went without a meal for an entire day, while 48 percent deliberately reduced their portions so other family members could eat. Furthermore, rising anaemia rates among pregnant women and hundreds of pregnancy losses highlight a systemic health collapse.

International agencies, including UNICEF, have warned that fragile gains made in temporarily averting a declared famine could easily be reversed. While the Israeli regime and local entities trade accusations over supply disruptions and tax disputes, the UN stresses that commercial and humanitarian channels must remain predictable, continuous, and fully open to avert a complete human catastrophe.

Source: www.aljazeera.com