The situation in the Gaza Strip is as dire as it has ever been, with thousands of children hospitalized due to acute malnutrition, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has warned, Anadolu Agency reports.

Louise Wateridge, UNRWA’s senior emergency officer in the besieged coastal strip, told reporters in Geneva from central Gaza that the suffering and sadness are still ongoing.

She noted that Gaza now has the world’s highest number of child amputees, with many undergoing surgeries without anaesthesia.

Citing medical workers on the ground, the UNRWA official underlined that too many patients are dying from treatable illnesses due to a lack of medication and equipment.