File photo: Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition rest at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
Thousands of children are malnourished, and most people are only eating one meal every other day, the United Nations says.
Israel ended a ceasefire last month and renewed its bombardment, killing hundreds of people and seizing large parts of the territory. Israeli strikes overnight into Thursday killed at least 37 people, including a family of 10.
Nearly all rely on charity kitchens
The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said that almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely on charity kitchens supported by aid groups, which can prepare just 1 million meals a day.
Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies, and the U.N. and other aid groups have been sending their remaining stocks to the charity kitchens.
The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets. But prices are spiralling and shortages are widespread, meaning humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80% of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for April.
“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” OCHA said.
Most people in Gaza are now down to one meal a day, said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “It’s far lower than what is needed,” she said.
Water is also growing scarce, with Palestinians standing in long lines to fill jerry cans from trucks. Omar Shatat, an official with a local water utility, said people are down to six or seven liters per day, well below the amount the U.N. estimates is needed to meet basic needs.
More hungry children, and they are harder to reach
In March, more than 3,600 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, up from around 2,000 the month before, according to OCHA, which said "the rapid deterioration of the nutrition situation is already visible.”
At the same time, aid groups’ ability to treat malnourished children is hampered by Israel's airstrikes and ground operations, which resumed on March 18.
In March, the number of children under 5 that aid workers could supply with nutrient supplements fell 70% from February, down to 22,300 children – a fraction of the 29,000 children they aim to reach. Only 60% of the 173 treatment sites are operating, and demand for the dwindling supplies is rising, OCHA said.
"Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” said Amande Bazerolle, the emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.
“This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity,” she said in a statement.
Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen has food for about three more weeks.
“But food is loosely defined. We have pasta and rice, but nothing much beyond that. No fresh produce. There is no chicken or beef. The only thing we have is canned meat,” he said. He said 15-20% of the people who come to his kitchen for food leave empty-handed.
Israel's war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.
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