Childhood acute malnutrition reaches ‘highest levels to date’: UN spokesperson
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has been briefing reporters in New York.
Here are some of the top takeaways from the news conference:
- “Acute malnutrition among children in Gaza has reached the highest levels recorded to date,” Haq said, with nearly 12,000 children identified as acutely malnourished in July alone.
- Constraints on humanitarian access have made the starvation crisis among Palestinian children worse, as UN partners were able to reach only 8,700 of the 290,000 children under age five who needed feeding and nutrient supplements.
- “Most families in Gaza are living in severely overcrowded, unsafe and undignified conditions – some with no shelter at all,” Haq said. Eleven percent of more than 6,500 surveyed households reported living out in the open.
- Israel continues to block necessary assistance from entering Gaza, he added, noting “Aid that has entered remains by far insufficient, and our convoys continue to face impediments on their way to delivering aid.”
- Five out of 11 humanitarian missions requiring coordination with Israel were approved on Wednesday, Haq said. “What we need is unimpeded and predictable humanitarian access into and within Gaza, in parallel with the flow of commercial goods.”
UNICEF warns of ‘staggering’ increase in child acute malnutrition
The UN’s child relief agency (UNICEF) says the number of Palestinian children suffering from acute malnutrition in Gaza has surged from about 2,000 in February to nearly 12,000 now.
“It is clear evidence that malnutrition is accelerating rapidly, putting young lives at grave risk,” the agency wrote on X.
“We know how to prevent and treat malnutrition. The tools exist. The expertise exists. But without safe, sustained access, they mean nothing. Children in Gaza need urgent access to aid at scale and a ceasefire. NOW.”
The surge in the number of children with acute malnutrition in Gaza is staggering.
In February, 2,000 children were affected. By June, that figure tripled. Now it has nearly doubled again.
It is clear evidence that malnutrition is accelerating rapidly, putting young lives at… pic.twitter.com/VHZt2vwW3O
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 7, 2025
Fighting rages in Gaza City’s Tuffah
Our correspondent on the ground reports that the Israeli army is carrying out a fierce bombing campaign on the neighbourhood in northern Gaza, hitting residential homes.
This comes as the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that its fighters shelled a group of Israeli soldiers and vehicles near Dar al-Arqam School in the area.
As we just reported, the Israeli army issued forced evacuation orders for the neighbourhood, telling residents that it would intensify bombing there.
Gaza aid airdrops turn deadly, crowds battle to survive
Crowds of starving Palestinians have struggled to get any of the limited aid being airdropped into Gaza in recent days.
Check out our report from the chaotic scene after an airdrop in Gaza City below:
