The malnutrition crisis in Gaza has had catastrophic consequences for pregnant women, newborns and infants, with mortality rates among babies born to malnourished mothers running twice as high as those born to healthy ones, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Thursday.
The findings are drawn from data collected across four MSF-supported medical facilities between late 2024 and early 2026. Among 201 mothers of newborns treated in neonatal intensive care units in Gaza City between June 2025 and January 2026, more than half were malnourished during pregnancy and 25 percent remained so at the time of delivery. Of their children, 95 percent were born prematurely and 84 percent had low birth weight.
Between October 2024 and December 2025, MSF teams enrolled 513 infants under six months of age in nutritional programs at clinics in Khan Younis. Ninety-one percent were at risk of developmental disorders. By December, 200 had dropped out — only 48 percent had recovered, 7 percent had died, and 32 percent had abandoned treatment due to insecurity.
MSF also recorded 4,176 children under 15 admitted for acute malnutrition between January and February 2024, 97 percent of them under five, alongside 3,336 pregnant and breastfeeding women enrolled in outpatient programs during the same period.
MSF attributed the crisis directly to Israeli restrictions. "Israeli restrictions on food transport, the militarization of humanitarian corridors and distribution points, and attacks on key infrastructure have created a situation in which starvation is deliberately used as a means of controlling the population", said José Mas, head of MSF's emergency unit.
"Before the war, malnutrition in Gaza barely existed. This is man-made", said MSF medical staffer Mercè Rocaspana.
The early 2025 ceasefire brought little relief. By the end of May 2025, the number of food distribution points had fallen from around 400 to just four, and food trucks were blocked. In August, the region's first-ever famine was declared. Between mid-October and the end of November 2025, an estimated three-quarters of Gaza's population faced severe food insecurity.
MSF called on Israel and its allies, including the United States, to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
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Source: PAP