UNICEF said on June 6 that 9 out of 10 children in Gaza are not getting enough nutrients from food groups for their healthy development.

“Months of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and restrictions on humanitarian assistance have led to the collapse of food and health systems, resulting in catastrophic consequences for children and their families,” UNICEF said.

It said five sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 showed that nine out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip, which has been battling an Israeli offensive since last October, suffer from severe food poverty, meaning they are surviving on two or fewer servings of food groups per day.

“This is evidence of how conflict and sanctions are having a devastating impact on families’ ability to meet children’s food needs – and how rapidly this is putting children at risk of life-threatening malnutrition,” UNICEF said.

Israel says it has placed no limits on humanitarian supplies to civilians in Gaza and has blamed the United Nations for the slow deliveries and what it says are inefficient operations.

But with famine brewing in Gaza and some children dying from malnutrition and dehydration, even Israel’s staunchest allies have come under increasing pressure to do more to deliver food.

To meet the minimum dietary diversity for healthy growth, children should eat at least five foods from eight food groups as defined by the dietary diversity score used by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

These include breast milk, eggs, dairy products, as well as meat, poultry and fish.

UNICEF said that globally, 27% of children are living in severe child food poverty in childhood, which equates to 181 million children under the age of 5.

Israel’s ground and air campaign began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 253 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

The attacks have killed more than 36,500 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.