Gaza malnutrition and starvation at ‘catastrophic’ levels: Health Ministry

What the report says

Gaza’s Health Ministry says malnutrition and starvation in the territory have reached “catastrophic” levels, even as a US-brokered ceasefire was meant to improve the flow of food and medicine. In a statement tied to World Food Day, the ministry said at least 466 Palestinians have died from malnutrition and starvation since 2024, with children making up about one-third of those deaths. It also said older people have been heavily affected, and that tens of thousands of children are expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition through April 2027.

The ministry said the crisis is worsening for pregnant women and families more broadly, citing rising anaemia and thousands of pregnancy losses in the first half of 2026. It warned that about 1.4 million people in Gaza, or 67 percent of the population, are projected to face crisis-level food insecurity or worse through the end of 2026. The warning comes as winter approaches and aid needs remain high.

UNICEF separately said recent gains in easing hunger in Gaza are fragile and could reverse if supply routes are disrupted. The agency said broader access to humanitarian and commercial goods helped avert a prolonged famine after one was declared in 2025, but stressed that crossings must stay open and supplies must remain steady.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel said no commercial goods had entered Gaza for days, blaming a tax dispute, while Hamas rejected that claim. The article also notes that Gaza has faced years of blockade and, since the war began in 2023, repeated displacement and severe aid restrictions, factors that continue to shape the crisis.