NEW YORK, 28 November 2025 – High levels of acute malnutrition continue to pose an extreme threat to the lives and wellbeing of children in the Gaza Strip. The situation is gravely compounded by the onset of winter weather, which is accelerating the spread of disease and dramatically increasing the risk of death among the most vulnerable children.
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Nutrition screenings conducted by UNICEF and its partners identified almost 9,300 children under the age of five with acute malnutrition in October. While this figure represents a downward trend from 11,746 children in September and 14,363 in August, demonstrating some progress in treatment and prevention efforts, the October admission rate remains one of the highest on record. This is nearly five times the rate observed in February 2025 during the previous ceasefire period.
“Despite progress, thousands of children under the age of five remain acutely malnourished in Gaza, while many more lack proper shelter, sanitation and protection against winter,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Too many children in Gaza are still facing hunger, illness and exposure to cold temperatures, conditions that are putting their lives at risk. Every minute counts to protect these children.”
Lethal Combination of Cold, Disease, and Hunger
The combination of factors currently affecting Gaza’s children is proving especially lethal.
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Food Insecurity: While recent weeks have seen increased food supplies, leading to lower market prices, many essential animal-source foods remain either unavailable or unaffordable for the majority of families. An October UNICEF survey found that two in three children under five ate two or less of the recommended eight food groups in the preceding week, relying mostly on basic grains, bread, or flour.
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Winter and Exposure: Thousands of displaced families are housed in makeshift shelters, lacking warm clothes, blankets, or protection from the elements. Heavy rains have already caused flooding, washing waste and sewage into populated areas.
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Disease Outbreak: The existing conditions of poor sanitation, overcrowding, and limited access to safe water facilitate the rapid spread of disease, which disproportionately affects young children. Malnutrition and disease form a deadly feedback loop, where each condition accelerates and worsens the other.
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Hypothermia Risk: Cold temperatures dramatically increase the body’s energy needs. Malnourished children, who lack the necessary fat and muscle reserves, are at severe risk of hypothermia.
UNICEF’s Scaled-Up Response and Call to Action
UNICEF has significantly scaled up its nutrition response, particularly in Gaza City, where famine was confirmed in August. The number of acute malnutrition treatment points in the area has increased from seven to 26 since the ceasefire, improving access to life-saving services.
Humanitarian Aid Delivered: Since the ceasefire, UNICEF has brought in:
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Over 5,000 family tents and 247,000 tarpaulins
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692,000 blankets and 50,500 mattresses
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206,000 sets of winter clothes
These supplies are being quickly distributed, alongside cash assistance, floodwater pumping, and the reinforcement of storm basins, even reaching previously unserved, highly vulnerable areas like Jabalia in North Gaza.
Critical Bottlenecks:
Despite these efforts, the volume of distributed supplies cannot be replaced quickly enough due to a significant backlog of winter supplies awaiting entry at the borders.
UNICEF calls for the safe, rapid, and unimpeded movement of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, in line with international humanitarian law.
We urge all parties to take the following critical steps immediately:
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Open All Crossings: Simultaneously open all crossings into the Gaza Strip, with simplified and expedited clearance procedures and the clear prioritization of humanitarian supplies.
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Ensure Supply Routes: Allow humanitarian relief to move through all feasible supply routes, including via Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank.
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Permit Full Range of Supplies: Permit the urgent entry, at scale, of a full range of life-saving and life-sustaining supplies, including items previously denied or restricted. Specifically, UNICEF calls for the required scale of water treatment chemicals, spare parts, and supplies for the repair, maintenance, and operation of water and wastewater systems.
