Nutrition Vulnerabilities of Children and Mothers in Gaza Strip | Assessment Report

The nutrition challenges in Gaza since the start of the current war in October 2023 have escalated into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with much of the population facing high levels of acute food insecurity and a high risk of famine.

Since the outbreak of the war on 7 October 2023, the situation in Gaza has deteriorated sharply. Over 2 million Palestinians became trapped inside the Strip, facing continuous bombardment, starvation, repeated forced displacement, and pervasive fear. The World Food Programme announced that hunger and malnutrition had spiked dramatically after all aid was halted from entering Gaza on 2 March, reversing improvements briefly observed during the early-2025 ceasefire. Basic food items became extremely scarce and prohibitively expensive due to severe shortages driven by Israel’s prevention of both commercial and humanitarian food supplies from entering Gaza.

Malnutrition in Gaza reached catastrophic levels, with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) having confirmed famine in Gaza Governorate in August 2025. The entire population of children under five was at risk of acute malnutrition, and hundreds of preventable deaths have been reported due to hunger-related causes. The crisis was driven by conflict, severe restrictions on aid, and the collapse of essential services.