Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoGAZA / CHILDREN MALNUTRITION
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: GAZA / CHILDREN MALNUTRITION
TRT: 03:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 APRIL 2025, GAZA CITY
1. Various shots, the streets of Gaza City showing the movement of residents
2. Various shots, Palestinian children with their families in the streets of Gaza City
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samiha Hajjaj:
“I gave birth to my daughter during the war, and she is only a few days old now. We are suffering from dire conditions - there is no breastfeeding due to malnutrition among mothers, and we also face a shortage of infant formula.”
4. Wide shot, children playing in a street in Gaza City
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sami Sbeita:
“We are suffering from malnutrition, and as you know, the crossings are closed. We are facing difficulties feeding the children, and there is nothing in the markets we can buy to feed them.”
6. Close up shot, a young girl standing next to her mother in Gaza City
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hiba Shomali:
“There are no vegetables, no milk, nothing at all. We’re not asking for anything for ourselves, but we need help for the children. My little girl has a pale face, she’s bedridden 24 hours a day, suffering from fever and sometimes seizures. The kids say, ‘Mom, we’re hungry,’ and we have nothing to give them.”
8. Med shot, a woman accompanied with her daughter in Gaza City
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yasmin Hamada:
“There is no food, no meat, no chicken, no fruit we can provide - absolutely nothing. The situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely difficult.”
10. Various shots, a young girl standing with her father on a street in Gaza
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Shaheen:
“Here in the Gaza Strip, we are deprived of everything - food, water, and the harsh living conditions we endure in the tents.”
12. Various shots, the streets of Gaza City
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Olga Cherevko, spokesperson, OCHA Gaza:
“The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate as the crossings remain closed now for the seventh week. This is contributing to a rise in malnutrition rates, especially among children. Yesterday, we visited a malnutrition center in Khan Younis, and the staff there told us that case numbers have increased by at least 20 per cent. The situation is extremely urgent, and the crossings must be reopened immediately to halt this decline.”
14. Various shots, the streets of Gaza City
As the closures of the crossings leading into the Gaza Strip continue and the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods remains blocked, the suffering of the population is intensifying amid a severe shortage of food and vegetables, at a time when the Strip is witnessing a growing crisis of malnutrition, particularly among children.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which visited displacement sites in Khan Younis last week, reported that thousands of Palestinians are living in overcrowded shelters amid a severe lack of shelter, food, water, and medicine.
The office noted that UN partners observed a rise in acute malnutrition rates and a significant drop, over two-thirds, in the number of children receiving supplementary feeding during the month of March.
Restrictions on humanitarian access are hindering the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals, endangering the lives of more patients, while humanitarian workers face growing difficulties due to the ban on aid entry into the Strip for more than seven weeks, coinciding with escalating military operations.
OCHA confirmed that Israeli authorities have continued to deny approval for most coordinated humanitarian missions.
Despite the security constraints and resource shortages, humanitarian agencies continue their efforts to meet the increasing needs. Community kitchens prepare more than one million meals daily, but these quantities remain insufficient to meet the needs of the majority of the population in the Strip, which numbers around 2.1 million people, most of whom rely entirely on food assistance.
The United Nations emphasizes that international humanitarian law mandates the protection and respect of civilians, including relief and health workers, and the guarantee of unhindered access to meet their basic needs.
