Nearly one in six children in Gaza are acutely malnourished after two years of Israel’s offensive and siege that has caused severe food shortages in the Palestinian territory, according to a study published in The Lancet, AFP reports.

“After nearly 2 years of war and severe restrictions in humanitarian aid, tens of thousands of preschool-aged children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from preventable acute malnutrition and facing an increased risk of mortality,” said the study, financed by the UN Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.

The study, the most detailed look so far at child hunger in Gaza, analysed data on more than 200,000 children under five examined between January 2024 and August 2025 at UNRWA facilities.

It found acute malnutrition had risen steadily, particularly after an Israeli aid blockade from March to May 2025. The most recent measurements, taken in August, found that 15.8 per cent of children examined suffered from acute malnutrition.

Extrapolating to the entire population, the researchers estimated around 55,000 children in Gaza were affected.

The findings “strongly suggest that restrictions on food and assistance have resulted in severe malnutrition among children in the Gaza Strip, a reality that will undoubtedly impact their future health and development outcomes for generations”, a group of international pediatricians not involved in the study said.