Gaza hunger toll rises to 466 as UNICEF warns nutrition gains may not last
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Gaza Strip: At least 466 Palestinians, including 157 children, have died from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza since 2024, the territory’s Health Ministry said, as the United Nations warned that recent improvements in child nutrition could be reversed if food and commercial supplies remain disrupted.
The ministry released the figures on World Food Day, observed annually on October 16. It said elderly people accounted for a large share of the deaths, with 189 people aged above 60 among the total.
According to the ministry, more than 1.4 million Palestinians, nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s population, are projected to face crisis-level food insecurity or worse until the end of 2026. It also reported more than 158,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children under five between 2024 and August 2026, including severe cases that pose an immediate threat to life.
The health crisis has particularly affected children and pregnant women. The ministry said the mortality rate among children under five rose sharply between 2022 and 2025, while anaemia among pregnant women increased to 61 per cent in 2026 from 41 per cent before the war. It also recorded around 4,000 pregnancy losses in the first half of 2026, more than three times the figure reported in the preceding six months.
UNICEF said acute malnutrition rates had declined following increased humanitarian and commercial supplies after the ceasefire, but cautioned that the improvement remained fragile. “Acute malnutrition rates have fallen, but only one in three children under the age of two is currently achieving minimum dietary diversity,” the agency said in its report.
The UN children’s agency estimated that around 800,000 children in Gaza were living in displacement conditions. It said disrupted supply chains, reduced availability of food in local markets and loss of household income continued to make adequate nutrition difficult for many families.
UNICEF called for crossings to remain open and for unhindered access to humanitarian and commercial goods, including food, medicines and fuel. It also stressed the need for sustained nutrition programmes for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Gaza’s Health Ministry urged the international community and the United Nations to ensure the continuous and unrestricted entry of food, nutritional supplements and medicines. It asked that children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the elderly be prioritised in aid distribution, and sought international support to restore local food production.
The ministry said damage to farmland, food production facilities and water networks had weakened Gaza’s ability to meet its own food needs, while repeated displacement, job losses and rising prices had further strained households.
The famine in Gaza was declared on August 22, 2025, by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.