UNICEF: 9,300 children in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe malnutrition

UNICEF said on Saturday that with the arrival of winter, children’s lives and health in the Gaza Strip continue to be gravely threatened.

The UNICEF statement read: “The winter season is causing a rise in disease transmission and increasing the risk of death among the most vulnerable children in Gaza.” Nutrition assessments showed that around 9,300 children under the age of five in Gaza suffered from severe acute malnutrition in October.

Fifty-one days have passed since the fragile ceasefire in Gaza began, yet Israeli occupation forces continue to violate it. Ismail al-Thawabteh, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, stressed that Israel has committed 535 violations of the ceasefire since it came into effect, resulting in 350 Palestinian deaths and around 900 injuries.

Al-Thawabteh noted that Israel has allowed only 9,930 aid trucks to enter Gaza, even though 28,000 trucks should have been permitted during this period—meaning that Israeli obstruction has kept aid delivery below 35% of what was agreed upon.

He added that Israel is using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war to exert pressure and is not adhering to its legal or humanitarian obligations.

Al-Mayadeen reported today that Israeli occupation forces carried out artillery attacks and gunfire from naval vessels targeting Gaza City.

In continued violations of the ceasefire, Israeli forces launched an airstrike this morning on the eastern area of Rafah in southern Gaza. Al Jazeera also reported that Israel targeted an area behind the Yellow Line in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.