A study published on Thursday revealed that one in every six children in Gaza suffers from severe malnutrition due to the ongoing two-year war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.

The study, published in The Lancet and funded by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), concluded that “after nearly two years of conflict and strict restrictions on humanitarian aid, tens of thousands of young children in Gaza suffer from preventable severe malnutrition, increasing their risk of death.”

This study comes nearly two months after the United Nations officially declared that certain areas of the Gaza Strip are experiencing famine, a claim denied by Israel, which called it a false announcement.

This is the first comprehensive study to determine malnutrition rates among children in Gaza, relying on data from over 200,000 children under five years old who were examined between January 2024 and August 2025 at UNRWA clinics and emergency centers.

Severe malnutrition, characterized by sudden weight loss and potentially causing serious short- and long-term health problems, manifested particularly in Gaza following the tight blockade imposed by Israel on the territory between March and May 2025.

Latest measurements taken in August showed that 15% of the children examined suffered from severe malnutrition.

Applying this percentage to Gaza’s total population, researchers estimated that nearly 55,000 children suffer from severe malnutrition in the territory.