Gaza - Nearly one in six children in Gaza are acutely malnourished after two years of Israeli siege have caused severe food shortages in the Palestinian territory, according to a study published Thursday.
The study, published in medical journal The Lancet, comes after the United Nations in August declared a famine in parts of the Gaza Strip amid an Israeli blockade on the territory.
"After nearly 2 years of war and severe restrictions in humanitarian aid, tens of thousands of preschool-aged children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from preventable acute malnutrition and facing an increased risk of mortality," said the study, financed by the UN Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.
The study, the most detailed look so far at child hunger in Gaza, analyzed data on more than 200,000 children under five examined between January 2024 and August 2025 at UNRWA facilities.
It found acute malnutrition – which causes severe weight loss and can lead to serious long-term health problems – had risen steadily, particularly after an Israeli aid blockade from March to May 2025.
The most recent measurements, taken in August, found that 15.8% of children examined suffered from acute malnutrition.
Extrapolating to the entire population, the researchers estimated around 55,000 children in Gaza were affected.
In a comment on the study, a group of international pediatricians not involved in it said the data had "some limitations," including the fact that the children examined had at least some access to health services.
However, the findings "strongly suggest that restrictions on food and assistance have resulted in severe malnutrition among children in the Gaza Strip, a reality that will undoubtedly impact their future health and development outcomes for generations," they said.
Israel has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza in the last two years, according to the territory's health ministry, though the true number is believed to be far higher.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry last month joined numerous human rights experts and organizations in stating that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.