Malnutrition crisis reaches catastrophic levels as famine declared in parts of Gaza

Palestine Red Crescent Society medical teams are battling severe child malnutrition while feeling the impact of hunger amid aid shortages with nearly half a million people facing starvation.

Updated 28 August 2025

Malnutrition in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels and continues to worsen. In August 2025, the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) declared famine in areas of Gaza, including Gaza City. This is the latest in a series of dire warnings about the humanitarian situation on the ground. 

Approximately 470,000 people - 22% of Gaza’s population - are facing the imminent threat of starvation.

Our colleagues in the Palestine Red Crescent Society, who are on the ground in Gaza, have shared that emergency rooms are flooded with people of all ages, arriving in states of extreme exhaustion, weakness, and physical collapse.

What is famine?

On 22 August 2025, the IPC declared a famine was occurring in parts of Gaza. Those areas are within the Gaza Governorate, a region which includes Gaza City.

The IPC defines famine as “a situation in which at least one in five households has an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution, resulting in extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition and death.”

Famine, also referred to by the IPC as ‘Phase 5’, is the highest phase of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale and represents the most serious condition. 

The IPC is an international organisation which analyses data to conclude whether famine is happening or projected to occur in a country. 

Medical teams are battling severe child malnutrition amid aid shortages

Despite the overwhelming number of cases, medical teams from the Palestine Red Crescent Society are doing everything they can to treat malnourished children with the limited resources available, even while they fight the effects of hunger themselves. In field hospitals like the one in Rafah, staff are working around the clock to provide emergency nutrition support, essential food supplements, and basic medical care.

Dr Mohamed El-Deeb, a Palestine Red Crescent Society doctor at Al Quds Hospital in Gaza City, spoke about the desperate condition of many children.

“Children are suffering from severe malnutrition, and they are in need of food supplements, and they need the essential foods for them. They get dizzy, they get tired, they get drowsy, they get malnourished. We have received a lot of cases such as this who are suffering from severe malnutrition and even sometimes collapse in their sleep because of their malnutrition,” he said.

After more than 22 months of hostilities, critical infrastructure across Gaza has been extensively damaged. This infrastructure is essential for electricity and water services, which provide displaced communities with power, safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation, and medical care.

Dr El-Deeb explained: “There is a severe deficiency of all the necessary equipment, such as flour, sugar and the essential proteins and carbohydrate for every single individual."

The food shortages are also having an impact on the Palestine Red Crescent Society medical teams who are carrying out living saving work. Mey El Sayegh. communications manager IFRC MENA explained that Palestine Red Crescent Society colleagues, who receive one meal a day, are choosing to give it to their children rather than eating themselves.

"What we are hearing from our colleagues at the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza is deeply distressing,” she said.

“I don’t know how our colleagues continue, they are supposed to be the first responders and are providing food to people whilst they themselves are hungry. Yet they are doing their best to support people in need. Our teams are providing glimmers of hope amid utter horror.”

• Help support medical care in Gaza - donate now 

A mother's plea: 'Stop the war'

Fatema, 48, is the mother of Raed, a 26-year-old man whose leg was amputated and who is receiving care at the field hospital in Gaza City.

Fatema explained how her son was injured: “My son went to get food for his children and us. He brought back a bag of rice, but it was taken from him by people we don't even want to describe.

“He went to the Nabulsi area to get us food because our situation was so bad, we had no food, no drink, nothing at all.

“There was nothing at home, so he said he would go get a bag of flour like the others. I told him not to go, maybe something might happen there.

“He insisted on going. He pulled a bag of rice and tried to escape through the crowd, but he couldn't and fell to the ground. A truck tire ran over his leg.

“He needs supplements and food to improve his haemoglobin, but there is nothing. There is no money, no food, and no one to support his case. When I manage to get 100 or 200 shekels (10 shekels = £2.29), I go out to buy food, but it’s not enough for anything.

“A small bunch of grapes costs 40 shekels, three figs cost 30 shekels. This is a huge injustice. What can I do? He also has children aged four, three, and just two months. I can't find anything to feed them.

“For three months, I have eaten nothing but one or two pieces of bread. When I get hungry, I drink water.

“I hope the war ends, not just for me and my son, but for all the people suffering like us. We are tired of repeating the word ‘we're exhausted.’ For God’s sake, stop the bleeding in Gaza.

“It’s not just me saying this, every mother is saying, ‘For God’s sake, stop the war. Stop the war’.”

The impact of malnutrition will affect children for generations

The effects of aid and food shortages will not just be felt by people today but are likely to impact generations, especially children, causing a health crisis in Gaza that could last many years. Naziha El Moussaoui, food security, nutrition and livelihoods advisor at the British Red Cross explained that lasting health damage caused by malnutrition may be irreversible for the thousands of children being affected.

“This is not just a crisis for today - it’s a crisis for generations to come. Malnutrition weakens the immune system, leaving people, especially the most vulnerable, unable to fight off disease and infection,” he said.

“The long-term effects will echo far into the future. With chronic malnutrition comes longer term health impacts which can be irreversible in children. This includes impacts on brain development, stunted growth, and organ functioning. We need a sustained flood of support - not just to save lives today, but to safeguard the future of entire communities." 

Unhindered humanitarian aid is desperately needed as malnutrition rapidly increases

In the last few weeks there has been an increase in aid as well as a humanitarian pause to allow for the safer distribution of essential items to the people that need it – but this isn’t enough. The trickle of aid needs to be a flood, and needs to be delivered regularly to meet the needs of the people, who are hungry and running out of options. 

Rory Moylan, the British Red Cross's head of region for the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, stressed that the rising malnutrition crisis is a direct result of ongoing disruptions to humanitarian assistance, which is placing even more pressure on an already crumbling health system.

“Gaza needs a sustained and unimpeded flow of aid, civilians must be spared from fighting, and humanitarian and health workers must be protected. Day in day out, the Palestine Red Crescent Society continues to serve those most in need, responding with courage and commitment - saving lives, offering hope, and providing critical support. But time is running out.”

How you can help

The situation in Gaza is catastrophic but you can help by donating to the Gaza Crisis Appeal. This appeal helps support the life-saving work of the Palestine Red Crescent Society like that of Dr El-Deeb at the Al Quds Hospital and wider work in the region, now and in the future.

• Act now - donate to the Gaza Crisis appeal