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STORY: WHO / GAZA SEVERE MALNUTRITION
TRT: 9:12
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 19 – 22 JULY 2025, GAZA
19 JULY 2025, GAZA CITY, DISPLACED PERSON’S CAMP
1.Wide shot, Augay being held in his uncle’s arms as he walks across the school grounds
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Eid Saeed Siyam, Auday’s uncle:
“Auday is a child who was supposed to be taken care of by his parents, but sadly they were killed, and therefore his aunt took him in order to take care of him, yet she can’t find food for herself, let alone feeding a baby who needs milk, diapers and so and so on. As a result, Auday is suffering severe malnutrition, he’s not accepting milk or nutrients nor supplements at all, and that’s all due to his very difficult health condition.”
3. Various shots, Auday on his uncle’s knee
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Susan Muhammad Marouf, therapeutic nutritionist, Patient’s Friends Hospital:
“Our child, Auday, is an orphan, meaning he has no one to care for him. He came here to the Patient's Friends Association. We are trying to help him within the available capabilities as much as possible by providing milk and supplements, but due to the current situation, the supplements are no longer available. The therapeutic milk that malnourished children need has become very scarce and almost non-existent. All the supplements we try to provide to malnourished children are no longer available.”
19 JULY 2025, PATIENT’S FRIENDS HOSPITAL, GAZA CITY
5. Various shots, Auday being examined, with an arm circumference measurement being taken to check for malnutrition (measurements in the red are classified as Severe Acute Malnutrition). He is then weighed and his height measured
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fayaza Khames Abdulrahman, grandmother of Mohammed Khaled Aliwa:
“Mohammad Khaled Aliwa is suffering severe malnutrition, due to the unavailability of milk. There were times where his mother had to feed him water instead of milk to satisfy his hunger. There’s no available milk for him, also his father is not currently working and he’s unable to provide him with milk and diapers. The child now is suffering severe malnutrition.”
20 JULY 2025, PATIENT’S FRIENDS HOSPITAL, GAZA CITY
7. Med shot, Mohammed lying on a bed
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fayaza Khames Abdulrahman, grandmother of Mohammed Khaled Aliwa:
“She needs food or nourishment to produce milk. There's nothing. Where can I get food? I mean, there is no food in all of Gaza. We're in a state of child famine. Even a six-month-old baby is supposed to be fed. There's nothing at all. A simple biscuit is not even available so we can feed to him.”
9. Med shot, Mohammed lying on a bed, his grandmother holding his hand.
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fayaza Khames Abdulrahman, grandmother of Mohammed Khaled Aliwa:
“Oh, I'm really, really scared for him, I swear. I mean, there are times when I cry over his condition and I can't do anything for him. You know the situation. I mean, no one is able to provide him with milk. I, myself, am not able to provide him with anything.”
11. Med shot, Mohammed sitting on a bed, his back to camera, showing the extent of his malnutrition
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Saeed Salah, Medical Director, Patient’s Friends Hospital:
“As everyone knows, the Gaza Strip, especially the northern Gaza Strip, suffers from a severe crisis of malnutrition, including children. According to WHO recommendations, new borns under six months should be breastfed, but due to the lack of all the basic nutritional elements for the mother, the mother has become completely dehydrated and unable to breastfeed even her own child, despite constant encouragement and motivation. But today there are no incentives or anything, and the mother is living in extreme famine and cannot even eat a single meal that she cannot provide for herself. Consequently, she is completely dehydrated in terms of milk production under these difficult circumstances. Many babies that were admitted in the malnutrition department are at the age of two or three months because they have not gained weight from the day of birth until today.”
13. Med shot, Malnutrition Department signage inside the hospital.
22 JULY 2025, DALIA SIAM’S HOUSE, DEIR AL BALAH, GAZA
14. Various shots, Saeed lying on a makeshift bed on the floor
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dalia Siam, Saeed’s mother:
“Saeed has suffered from cerebral palsy since he was a child. Saeed also suffers from chronic illnesses. Saeed needs intensive treatment, including physical therapy, and a back operation, he has a severe curvature of the spine, which affects his breathing, and causes shortness of breath. He doesn’t sleep at night because of the pain he’s suffering. Saeed also has chest pain and constantly needs steam inhalation. He also has gum and tooth infections due to the frequent spasms. All his teeth are broken. He also needs dental surgery.”
16. Various shots, Dalia Siam talking to Saeed and holding his hand
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dalia Siam, Saeed’s mother:
“I swear there comes days where we don’t actually eat for three days in a row, we only live on water; Saaed for instance is living for four days now on water and salt, because has become dehydrated and has frequent diarrhea, he vomits, his face is yellow, he is always dizzy, and he always wants to sleep. Even when I find something to feed him, I have to find starch and water, and without sugar, because Saeed gets very tired, and we suffer from this a lot in the war.”
18. SOUNDUP (Arabic) Dalia Siam, with photos of her and Saeed on a smartphone:
“This was before the war, Saeed used to love going to the beach, look how he’s smiling and laughing, now he hardly smiles, yes Saeed loves going out, he tells me and I understand him and we go out. I always do what he wants, look at his face here how he’s relaxed and healthy, unlike now, it’s war and his face pale.”
19. Various shots, picking up Saeed to hold him and feed him before laying him back on the floor
20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dalia Siam, Saeed’s mother:
“We followed up on Saeed’s case before the war and during the war, but we don’t have the capabilities in Gaza and we don’t have the treatments that cover Saeed’s case. Saeed needs a full dental anesthesia operation, all of his teeth, above and below, and he needs experienced doctors who specialize in Saeed’s case because he takes medication for epilepsy and convulsions, so he might wake up under anesthesia while they perform the operation. After the anesthesia, he might stay in the hospital for a week, two weeks, or a month. This means that Saeed will need to travel abroad for his condition, including spinal curvature surgery and dental surgery.”
21. Wide shot, Dalia Siam leaning against the wall, looking at Saeed lying on the mattress.
There is a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza. Since 17 July, severe acute malnutrition centres are full, without sufficient supplies for emergency feeding. In 2025, WHO has documented 21 deaths related to malnutrition of children under five-years-old.
Rates of global acute malnutrition exceed 10 percent, and over 20 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women that have been screened are malnourished, often severely. The hunger crisis is being accelerated by the collapse of aid pipelines and restrictions on access.
