UNICEF has found that nine out of 10 children in Gaza do not have enough food necessary for growth and development. 

“In the Gaza Strip, months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have collapsed the food and health systems, resulting in catastrophic consequences for children and their families,” UNICEF said in a Reuters report. 

According to five sets of data they’ve collected between the months of December 2023 and April 2024, nine out of 10 children living in the Gaza strip are facing famine, relying on two or less food groups per day, Reuters reported. 

“This is evidence of the horrific impact the conflict and restrictions are having on families’ ability to meet children’s food needs – and the speed at which it places children at risk of life-threatening malnutrition,” UNICEF said.

Reuters also reported that Israel has said they don’t limit humanitarian supplies coming into Gaza, but it is the United Nations that is responsible for slow deliveries. 

More countries have urged Israel to do more for civilians in Gaza to access food with an increase in children dying from malnutrition and dehydration, according to Reuters. 

UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) coined a dietary diversity score as a guide for the five out of eight food groups children need to consume, including breastmilk, dairy products, eggs, meat, poultry and fish. 

Reuters reported that UNICEF said that 27 percent of children globally are living in severe food poverty in their early childhood, “which amounts to 181 million children under the age of 5.”