At Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City, eight-month old Hatem Wahdan was sitting in his mother's arms next to a cot, drinking fortified milk formula from a bottle.

His weight is low, his mother and a doctor in the ward said, and his features stood out sharply. His mother, Aisha Wahdan, also looked thin.

Gaunt-looking Aisha said that before coming to hospital she had tried to wean him on herbal drinks because she could not breastfeed.

"There was no milk. I used natural herbs and tried everything because there was no milk substitute," she said.

According to his Dr. Ahmed Basal, Hatem is suffering from malnutrition although he did not suffer from it at birth.

Elsewhere in the city, crouched over a small wood fire in a tent camp, displaced Palestinian mother of four Sabrine Toushtash said she was attempting to make the Middle Eastern spice blend ‘Dukkah’ with the few ingredients she could find.

Toushtash, who is the sole provider for her children, said it has been difficult for her to secure nutritious food for her family.

"They are supposed to eat starches and sugars, eggs are not available, chicken is not available, and meat. Even if it is available, I can't go and buy it because the prices are very, very high,” she said.

The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency on Thursday (August 21) voiced concern that children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza will die if emergency provisions are not immediately put in place during Israel's Gaza City military operation.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that its data showed a six-fold increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza City since March.

In May, a global hunger monitor said that half a million people in the Gaza Strip faced starvation but stopped short of using the term famine.

Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, has previously said it invests considerable efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza and has denied restricting supplies.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when gunmen led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages including children into Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war in Gaza since then, according to Gaza health officials, who do not say how many were militants but have said most of those killed have been women and children.

Two more people have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Thursday.

The new deaths raised the number of Palestinians who have died from such causes to 271, including 112 children, since the war began.

Israel disputes malnutrition and starvation figures posted by the Gaza health ministry.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN MOTHERS WITH THEIR BABIES AT RANTISI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL / VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIANS IN A MAKESHIFT SCHOOL-TURNED-SHELTER / COMMENTS FROM MOTHERS AND DOCTOR / COMMENTS FROM WFP COUNTRY DIRECTOR AND GLOBAL PRACTICE LEAD FOR NUTRITION AT THE IRC

SHOWS: GAZA CITY, GAZA (AUGUST 7, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. MOTHER OF 8-MONTH-OLD BABY HATEM, AISHA WAHDAN, SITTING IN HOSPITAL ROOM AT RANTISI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, HOLDING HATEM WHILE HE IS DRINKING MILK

2. FLUIDS

3. VARIOUS OF WAHDAN HOLDING HATEM WHILE HE IS DRINKING MILK

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN DOCTOR, AHMED BASAL, SAYING:

"Mothers do not eat properly... malnutrition among women leads to children not breastfeeding from their mothers. Is there a nutritional supplement in the markets? In the markets, there are no types of milks, supplements, and the prices of milk are very expensive. Families can't buy it at the prices of 150 shekels and 200 shekels ($43 - $58) for a carton of milk - that is if it's available, and if they find it after efforts and struggle."

5. WAHDAN HOLDING HATEM, NEXT TO ANOTHER WOMAN HOLDING HER CHILD IN HOSPITAL ROOM

6. MOTHER FEEDING BABY

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN DOCTOR, AHMED BASAL, SAYING:

"Most children suffer from intestinal inflammation, vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration, which also affects the functions of the pancreas, especially the exocrine glands, causing bloating and malabsorption. This affects the atrophy of the membranes, known as thymus, and affects T-lymphocytes, causing them to lose immunity and thus suffer from recurrent infections."

8. WAHDAN HOLDING HATEM, NEXT TO ANOTHER WOMAN HOLDING HER CHILD IN HOSPITAL ROOM

9. WOMAN HOLDING BABY

10. VARIOUS OF HATEM LYING IN A BED AND DRINKING MILK, WAHDAN SITTING BY HIS SIDE

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 8-MONTH-OLD BABY HATEM, AISHA WAHDAN, SAYING:

"When it is available in the hospital, they give me milk. Before that, in the past... my son is weaned from me, not breastfeeding, (because) there was no milk. I used to use natural herbs. I used carob, chamomile, and thyme. I tried everything because there was no milk substitute... A carton of milk lasts four days for the child who is fully weaned. Milk became expensive, 200, 250 (shekels, $58 - $73). No one could buy a carton of milk. It was not even available in the market."

12. WAHDAN HOLDING HATEM AND GIVING HIM MILK FROM BOTTLE / HATEM'S IRRITATED SCALP

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 8-MONTH-OLD BABY HATEM, AISHA WAHDAN, SAYING:

"My son kept suffering from malnutrition and bloating, from the lack of milk. I would give him herbs - but this would not keep him full, it's like he was drinking water. Without milk, he wouldn't get full. His weight dropped."

14. HATEM CRYING

JERUSALEM (AUGUST 8, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

15. VARIOUS OF WFP BANNER

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WFP COUNTRY DIRECTOR, ANTOINE RENARD, SAYING:

“A major issue now in Gaza is that there's not enough food. That's one aspect, but there's not also the right type of food. You need to have fresh products. You need to have fruits, vegetables, you need to have meat, you need to have fish, and especially dairy products. Imagine what it is to be in Gaza, and we all know the Middle East, you don't even have Labneh. There's nothing for these kids. So for us, what is the biggest risk is that these populations are getting weaker, we see now malnutrition rates that start to skyrocket into Gaza.”

GAZA CITY, GAZA (AUGUST 7, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

17. PEOPLE WALKING OUTSIDE RANTISI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

18. PEOPLE WALKING IN AND OUT OF HOSPITAL

19. PEOPLE WALKING NEAR TENTS AND A MAKESHIFT SCHOOL-TURNED -SHELTER

20. PALESTINIAN MOTHER, SABRINE TOUSHTASH, AND HER DAUGHTER SITTING OUTSIDE TENT

21. VARIOUS OF GIRL MIXING DUKKAH (A MIDDLE EASTERN SPICE BLEND) AND SPREADING IT ON A PIECE OF BREAD

22. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER, SABRINE TOUSHTASH, SAYING:

"You came here as we were making Dukkah, and Dukkah as you know, it used to be made with wheat, with Freekeh (grain), with lentils. It is better than flour, but thank God, this is our food today, our lunch today was Dukkah."

23. PEOPLE SITTING NEAR TENTS

24. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER, SABRINE TOUSHTASH, SAYING:

"They are supposed to eat starches and sugars, eggs are not available, chicken is not available, and meat. Even if it is available, I can't go and buy it because the prices are very, very high, and I am the breadwinner for my children. My husband is missing, which means he is not with me at all. I am the only one who provides."

25. PALESTINIAN MOTHER, MANAL AL-TALOULI, WALKING IN SHELTER NEAR TENTS

26. VARIOUS OF AL-TALOULI CLEANING CUPS

27. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER, MANAL AL-TALOULI, SAYING:

"She (referring to her daughter) needs eggs, she needs cheese, she needs nutrition, she needs meat, she needs everything, not just for the children, everyone, everyone, (including) us the elderly. I have diabetes. I need everything nutritious. My husband is old, he is 64 years old. He also needs nutrition. I mean, we are - by God I am telling you - we walk and fall. From what? From malnutrition. We need nutrition. Last year, we reached a point of eating bitter herbs."

28. VARIOUS OF AL-TALOULI SITTING NEXT TO HER SON, SERVING TEA IN A CUP / SON EATING

29. VARIOUS OF WOMAN HEATING POT

30. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER, MANAL AL-TALOULI, SAYING:

"The whole world... it's enough. We are tired, we are tired. By God, we are tired."

31. PALESTINIANS WALKING BETWEEN TENTS AND DAMAGED BUILDINGS

CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 11, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

32. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL PRACTICE LEAD FOR NUTRITION AT THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE (IRC), JEANETTE BAILEY, SAYING:

"We are seeing the worst possible humanitarian catastrophe that is possible, that we can even measure, so it's just going to be a lot more children dying, a lot more pregnant and lactating women suffering from malnutrition and unable to give birth to healthy children.”

GAZA CITY, GAZA (AUGUST 21, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

33. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS SCRAMBLING FOR FOOD AT A SOUP KITCHEN

34. CHILD BEING SERVED FOOD

35. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN, AHMED ASHOUR IBRAHIM ABDEEN, SAYING:

"There is no food, I do not have money to buy food, we need people abroad to help us, have mercy on us and stop this war, this destruction that we have never seen like it in this life before."

GAZA CITY, GAZA (AUGUST 7, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

36. CARS DRIVING BY