In the coming weeks, at least 10,000 of them will suffer from the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, called severe wasting, and will require therapeutic nutrition, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) stressed in a statement released here.
The institution cited data from a report prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program confirming the devastating situation caused by the crisis in Gaza.
The integrated classification of food security phases warned the world of the very high risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, which is increasing every day as the situation continues, UNICEF stressed.
In this context, he emphasized that one in four households in the coastal enclave, i.e. more than half a million people, are facing catastrophic acute food insecurity, the highest alert level.
“These entirely man-made, foreseeable and avoidable catastrophic conditions mean that children and families in the Gaza Strip are now exposed to violence from the air and deprivation on the ground,” he warned.
“In short, this means that for many families the risk of famine is already real,” he said.
The fund said this risk comes at a time when the territory's food and health systems are facing total collapse.
More than 80 percent of young children suffer from severe food poverty, and more than two-thirds of hospitals are no longer functioning because of a lack of fuel, water and essential medical supplies or because they have suffered catastrophic damage in attacks, he noted.
“We are also particularly concerned about the nutrition of more than 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and more than 135,000 children under two years of age, given their specific nutritional needs,” he said.
mem/Rob