Gaza: Hostilities in Gaza have resulted in significant challenges regarding aid access, contributing to an alarming increase in child malnutrition rates, as reported by the United Nations on Friday.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) highlighted a staggering rise in acute malnutrition cases among children aged 6 months to 5 years in May, with over 5,100 children admitted for treatment. This figure marks a nearly 50 percent increase compared to April and a 150 percent surge compared to February, when a ceasefire was in place, allowing substantial aid into the region.
UNICEF reported that in the first five months of the year, more than 16,700 children, averaging 112 daily, required malnutrition treatment in Gaza. Each of these cases is preventable, yet essential food, water, and nutrition supplies remain blocked from reaching those in need. The organization urged Israel to allow large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings. Despite limited resources, UNICEF continues distributing the nutrition supplies it can bring into Gaza, acknowledging that 1,000 truckloads of essential supplies await delivery outside the borders.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that out of 21 requests to coordinate humanitarian movements within Gaza, 12 were approved by Israeli authorities, allowing fuel dispatches to the north, solid waste retrieval, and medical supplies distribution. However, five requests, including water trucking and road repairs, were denied, and four were canceled by organizers.
OCHA reported no fuel deliveries into Gaza for 16 weeks, but the UN retrieved fuel from Rafah's Al Tahreer station on Wednesday. A limited portion of this fuel was delivered to southern Gaza utilities, enabling crucial services like desalination plants, water trucking, and sewage pumping to continue operations. Humanitarian partners acknowledged the relief, though fuel instability and shortages still restrict operations.
Additionally, OCHA highlighted a major telecommunications outage in central and southern Gaza due to war-damaged fiber-optic cables. One Palestinian service provider has begun restoring internet and landline services in parts of southern Gaza, despite significant security risks and challenging conditions.
OCHA's partners delivered essential services to over 1,400 children and caregivers in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis, including psychosocial support and consultations. Explosive ordnance risk education reached 850 children. The agency emphasized the need to protect civilians, especially those displaced or remaining despite displacement orders.
In the West Bank, OCHA warned that over 1,200 Palestinians in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron face an increased risk of forced displacement following an Israeli decision to reject planning and zoning requests. This area, designated a firing zone in the 1980s, has seen its residents subjected to policies undermining their living conditions, potentially accelerating demolition processes.
OCHA called for enhanced protection for these communities, which have resided in the area for decades.