Child Malnutrition Soars to 28% in Gaza City as UN Chief Renews Ceasefire Call
More than one in four children suffer acute malnourishment as Israeli military operations intensify
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Acute malnutrition among children in Gaza City has skyrocketed to 28.5%, affecting more than one in four youngsters, as intensifying Israeli military operations prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to renew urgent calls for a ceasefire Thursday.
The malnutrition rate represents a catastrophic increase from 4.5% recorded in March when a ceasefire was still holding, according to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians. The agency has screened more than 95,000 children aged six months to five years for malnutrition across the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire collapsed in March.
"It is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause," Guterres told reporters on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
Around one million people still live in Gaza City, the territory's largest urban center in the north of the war-torn enclave. The Israeli army has described the city as a stronghold of Hamas, the organization whose Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel sparked the ongoing conflict.
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The Israeli military announced Tuesday that the "preliminary phase" of an offensive against Gaza City had begun, focusing on Jabalya in north Gaza and Az Zaytoun in Gaza City, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"Children continue to die from man-made starvation," UNRWA said in a statement, highlighting the deteriorating humanitarian crisis as military operations intensify.
Systematic Destruction Underway
The UN rights office reported that whole urban areas of Gaza City are being "totally destroyed," with continuous airstrikes, shelling and drone bombing targeting residential buildings. Israeli forces have reportedly demolished homes in Jabalya using explosives.
Recent attacks have been particularly devastating in the Az Zaytoun and As Sabra neighborhoods, with reported airstrikes hitting residential buildings and tents sheltering displaced people in Ash Sheikh Radwan, Ash Shujaiyeh and Ash Shati Camp, resulting in multiple fatalities.
The UN rights office warned Wednesday that Gaza City's "systematic destruction" had begun, citing more than 50 attacks on residential buildings and entire blocks since Aug. 8.
"Some families are reported to be trapped due to the continuous bombardment," the UN rights office said, noting extensive demolition of buildings continues in northern and eastern Gaza City.
Mass population displacement has been reported from North Gaza and Gaza City toward western parts of the territory, though specific figures remain unavailable.
Broadcast Evacuation Orders
Israeli military forces have continued broadcasting evacuation orders using quadcopters and phone calls for residents to leave large parts of Jabalya, according to UN rights officials. The military has also conducted attacks on aid-seekers in the Zikim area.
The escalating operations have put UNRWA services at "severe risk," the agency warned, pointing to tens of thousands of people still living in its shelters and many more in surrounding areas.
There is particular concern for UNRWA's Gaza Field Office compound, its largest logistics hub in northern Gaza, as the agency's operations in the south have been "crippled" by displacement orders and bombardment.
Malnutrition Crisis Spreads
Across the entire Gaza Strip, acute malnutrition has risen to nearly 16% in mid-August, more than triple the 5.2% level recorded in March when relief supplies were allowed into Gaza in far greater quantities than currently permitted.
The stark contrast highlights the impact of restricted aid access. When the ceasefire held in early March, malnutrition rates in Gaza City were six times lower than current levels.
UNRWA provided more than 100,000 medical consultations and screened 3,500 children for malnutrition in Gaza City last month alone. The agency also delivered drinking water to 220,000 people, domestic water to 250,000 and cleared hundreds of tons of waste.
Education and protection specialists reached thousands more through temporary learning spaces, counseling, recreational activities and risk awareness training about unexploded weapons.
"While our colleagues, like the rest of the UN, are determined to stay and deliver, all of these services are now at risk as the military operations intensify," UNRWA said.
West Bank Settlement Expansion
Guterres also condemned the Israeli government's decision to approve a long-shelved settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank, adding another dimension to regional tensions.
"The decision by the Israeli authorities to expand illegal settlement construction, which would divide the West Bank, must be reversed. All settlement construction is a violation of international law," the secretary-general said.
The settlement project has permission for more than 3,000 houses, schools and a clinic, effectively cutting off East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Ongoing Military Operations
Israeli military attacks have also targeted tents sheltering people in Al Mawasi, western Khan Younis, according to UN rights officials. The attacks continue the pattern of strikes on civilian infrastructure and displaced populations that has characterized the conflict.
The military operations in Gaza City represent a significant escalation in what has been nearly two years of warfare following Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel and subsequent hostage-taking.
The UN has repeatedly called for ceasefires throughout the conflict, with Guterres emphasizing the urgent need to prevent further civilian casualties and secure the release of remaining hostages.
The deteriorating humanitarian situation, marked by the dramatic spike in child malnutrition rates, underscores the mounting crisis facing Gaza's civilian population as military operations intensify in the territory's most populous area.
UN agencies continue operating under increasingly dangerous conditions, with staff and facilities at risk as the conflict enters what may be its most destructive phase yet in the densely populated urban center.
The international community faces mounting pressure to address both the immediate humanitarian crisis and find pathways toward de-escalation as the conflict approaches its second anniversary.
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