WHO says malnutrition reaching 'alarming levels' in Gaza
GAZA CITY
Palestinian walk carrying sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on July 27, 2025, after planes dropped aid into Gaza. Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on July 27, as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives.
"Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July," the WHO said in a statement.
Of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July — including 24 children under five, one child aged over five, and 38 adults, it added.
"Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting," the U.N. health agency said.
"The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives."
Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, the WHO said, citing its Nutrition Cluster partners.
It said the percentage of children aged six to 59 months suffering from acute malnutrition had tripled in the city since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Palestinian territory.
In Khan Younis and middle Gaza, those rates have doubled in less than a month, it added.
"These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities," the WHO said.
Israel on Sunday began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the U.N. and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.
But the WHO called for sustained efforts to "flood" the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food, and for the expedited delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, plus essential medicines and supplies.
"This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration", the Geneva-based agency said.
Food airdropped in Gaza
Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the U.N. and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.
The Israeli military said it had also begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory - making one drop of seven palettes - while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he characterised as U.N. "lies" that his government was to blame for the dire humanitarian situation.
The army also dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the U.N. and international agencies to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip".
U.N. emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the tactical pauses, saying he was in "contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window".
But the U.N.'s World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were "enduring famine-like conditions" that were already leading to deaths.
The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu's government to head off the risk of mass starvation in the territory.
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging Netanyahu "to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now."
Accusing the U.N. of fabricating "pretexts and lies about Israel" blocking aid, Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that "there are secure routes" for aid.
"There have always been, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses," he added.
Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation".
Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the U.N. and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled.
The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists.
The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Israel's latest moves a "welcome first step" but warned they could prove insufficient.
"Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops," she said. "What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza.
"We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege."
In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants.
AFP journalists saw Egyptian trucks crossing from Rafah, with cargo routed through Israel's Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection before entering Gaza.
The Israeli army's daily pause from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating — Al-Mawasi in the south, central Deir el-Balah and Gaza City in the north.
Israel said "designated secure routes" would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine.
The military said the measures should disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation".
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, citing "reasonable grounds" to suspect war crimes including starvation — charges Israel vehemently denies.
Activists intercepted
On Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defense agency, Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.
Separately, the Israeli navy brought an activist boat, the Handala operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, into the part of Ashdod, after intercepting and boarding it late Saturday to prevent it attempting to breach a maritime blockade of Gaza.
The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had met with 19 of the 21 detained activists and journalists from 10 countries. The other two detainees, dual U.S.-Israeli nationals, had been transferred to Israeli police custody, the group said.
The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
