At least 66 Palestinian children have died from acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its war and blockade on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
The deaths were attributed to Israel’s ongoing closure of border crossings and obstruction of baby formula and nutritional supplements meant for vulnerable groups—particularly infants and the ill, Quds News Network reported.
“This conduct constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity,” the office said in a statement, accusing Israel of deliberately using starvation as a weapon to exterminate civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
It described the situation as “an ongoing crime against childhood” and condemned the “shameful international silence” as children suffer from hunger, disease, and slow death.
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The statement held Israel fully responsible and named the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany as complicit in what it termed genocide, due to their support for Israeli actions.
“Time is running out. Every hour counts,” the office warned, urging immediate international intervention to reopen crossings and allow entry of food and medical supplies “before it is too late.”
US-Israel aid programme under scrutiny
Since May 27, the United States and Israel have jointly operated the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an aid distribution initiative functioning independently of the United Nations and international relief agencies.
The programme followed a partial easing of the blockade, but the UN has warned that famine-like conditions persist in the besieged enclave, where access to basic necessities remains critically limited.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 549 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured near aid distribution points since the GHF began operations.
Testimonies from Gaza
A video posted by The Palestine Chronicle on X shows a young boy weeping as he recounts returning home without food for his family.
“My little siblings are hungry”… A child weeps because he was unable to bring food to his siblings and family, who are suffering from hunger due to the ongoing starvation war waged by the occupation in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/ORpfDnb3wj
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 28, 2025
In another video shared on the same platform, mourners bid farewell to children killed in Gaza. The heartbreaking scenes highlight the devastating human cost of starvation and ongoing strikes.
Health system collapse
Only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, with no functioning hospitals left in northern Gaza or Rafah in the south, the Wafa News Agency reported.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that approximately 112 children are being admitted to hospitals in Gaza each day for malnutrition treatment since the start of 2025, amid the continuing blockade.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 56,412 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, with 133,054 others injured—around 72 percent of them women and children.
Ceasefire efforts
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Friday, June 27, that mediators are engaging with both Israel and Hamas to capitalise on the ceasefire between Iran and Israel this week, in a bid to push for a truce in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump also expressed optimism on Friday, suggesting a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza could be reached as early as “next week.”
