28 children die daily in Gaza due to malnutrition and lack of medicine: Officials report

Fourteen-month-old Hazar Arfa, receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, is in critical condition due to severe malnutrition, as Israel’s closure of border crossings and strict blockade severely restrict the entry of food and medicine into the enclave, deepening a hunger crisis that has devastating effects especially on children and infants, on August 15, 2025. [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that an average of 28 children are dying each day in the Gaza Strip as a result of malnutrition and inadequate medical care due to Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign in the enclave.

Munir al-Bursh, the Ministry’s Director General, stated that the Israeli occupation authorities are enforcing a systematic policy of “starvation and killing,” which includes targeted assaults on healthcare infrastructure in Gaza. He noted that the grim statistics reflect the death of one child every 40 minutes, culminating in approximately 28 fatalities per day.

On Tuesday alone, the ministry documented three additional deaths attributed to severe malnutrition and food shortages. The worsening medical and humanitarian crisis has led to a critical shortage of medicines and medical supplies, pushing the situation to a catastrophic level.

READ: 1,857 Palestinians killed in less than 3 months in Gaza while seeking food: UN rights office

Al-Bursh urged for immediate access for sick children to receive treatment outside the Strip, and held the Israeli occupation fully responsibility for its ongoing crimes against the civilian population in Gaza.

Since October 2023, Israel, with the support of the United States, has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, marked by acts of killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, while ignoring international pleas and directives from the International Court of Justice to cease its actions.

This genocide has resulted in over 218,000 Palestinian casualties, a majority of them children and women, with more than 11,000 individuals reported missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has claimed countless lives, predominantly among children. The ongoing violence has led to the widespread destruction of cities and regions across the Gaza Strip, effectively erasing much of its landscape from the map.

READ: ‘On brink of collapse’: American nurse in Gaza says doctors, staff going hungry at last hospital

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