Alarming scale of malnutrition among the young revealed by UN study

Israel under way in Egypt could lead to an end to the war.

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The 21-point plan under discussion in Sharm el-Sheikh was announced last week by Donald Trump. It calls for a ceasefire, the return of hostages still held by Hamas and a surge of aid into Gaza “without interference through the UN and its agencies, and the Red Crescent”.

Dr Akihiro Seita, the Unrwa director of health and an author of the study, said more malnourished children would die unless there was an end to hostilities and “unimpeded, competent, international humanitarian nutritional, medical, economic and social services”.

The study found two years of war had led to “enormous nutritional consequences” for tens of thousands of children across Gaza.

Researchers used measurements of the circumference of the arms of 220,000 children aged between six months and five years old in Gaza between January 2024, and August 2025, when famine was declared in parts of Gaza by a UN-backed panel of independent experts.

In January 2024, 5% of children screened showed evidence of wasting, rising to nearly 9% six months later, researchers found. Israel imposed severe aid restrictions from the end of 2024, after which the prevalence of wasting almost doubled by January 2025.