Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva, 27 July 2025 - Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July.

Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July - including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults. Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting.

The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.

Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, as reported by Nutrition Cluster partners. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM), which measures the percentage of children aged 6–59 months suffering from acute malnutrition, has tripled since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Gaza Strip. In Khan Younis and the Middle Area, rates have doubled in less than one month. These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities.

So far in July, over 5000 children under five have already been admitted for outpatient treatment of malnutrition in just the first two weeks, 18% of them with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), the most life-threatening form. This continues a significant rising trend since May, with 6500 children admitted for treatment in June, which is the highest number recorded since October 2023.

An additional 73 children with SAM and medical complications were hospitalized in July, compared to 39 in June, bringing total inpatient admissions in 2025 to 263. This surge in cases is overwhelming the only four specialized malnutrition treatment centres in the Gaza Strip, pushing an already fragile health system closer to collapse. All four centres are working beyond capacity, running low on fuel, with their supplies expected to run out by mid-next month. Health workers are exhausted, and the breakdown of water and sanitation systems is accelerating the spread of disease, driving a dangerous cycle of illness and death.

The crisis is taking a severe toll on pregnant and breastfeeding women. Recent Nutrition Cluster screening data shows that over 40% are severely malnourished. The situation is most critical in the Middle Area, where rates have tripled compared to June, and in Gaza City and Khan Younis, where they have doubled.

It is not only hunger that is killing people, but also the desperate search for food. Families are being forced to risk their lives for a handful of food, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions. Since 27 May, more than 1060 people have been killed and 7200 injured while trying to access food.

WHO calls for urgent, sustained efforts to flood the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food, and to expedite the delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, as well as essential medicines and supplies. This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration. WHO reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and health. WHO also calls for the release of our detained colleague, the release of hostages, and for an immediate ceasefire.

5 June 2025, Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva – WHO warns that the Gaza Strip’s health system is collapsing, with Nasser Medical Complex, the most important referral hospital left in Gaza, and Al-Amal Hospital at risk of becoming non-functional. There are already no hospitals functioning in the north of Gaza.

Nasser and Amal are the last two functioning public hospitals in Khan Younis, where currently most of the population is living. Without them, people will lose access to critical health services.

While these hospitals have not received orders to evacuate patients or staff, they lie within or just outside the evacuation zone announced on 2 June. Israeli authorities have informed the Ministry of Health that access routes leading to both hospitals will be obstructed. As a result, safe access for new patients and staff will be difficult, if not impossible. If the situation further deteriorates, both hospitals are at high risk of becoming non-functional, due to movement restrictions, insecurity, and the inability of WHO and partners to resupply or transfer patients.

Nasser and Al Amal hospitals are operating above their capacity, while people with life-threatening injuries continue to arrive to seek urgent care amid a dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies. The hospitals going out of service would have dire consequences for patients in need of surgical care, intensive care, blood bank and transfusion services, cancer care, and dialysis.

Losing the two hospitals would cut 490 beds, reducing the Gaza Strip’s overall hospital bed availability to less than 1400 hospital beds (40% less hospital beds available in the Gaza Strip than before the start of the conflict), for the entire population of 2 million people.

The relentless and systematic decimation of hospitals in Gaza has been going on for too long. It must end immediately. For over 20 months, health workers, WHO, and partners have managed to keep health services partly running despite extreme conditions. But repeated attacks, escalating hostilities, denial of aid, and restricted access have systematically dismantled the health system.

WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital to ensure they remain accessible, functional and safe from attacks and hostilities. Patients seeking refuge and care to save their lives must not risk losing them trying to reach hospitals. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted.

WHO calls for the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies into Gaza to be immediately expedited safely and facilitated through all possible routes.

WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

Notes to editors

• Only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are currently partially functional. Of these, just five, including Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital, are major referral facilities, accounting for 75% of all the Gaza Strip’s hospital beds.
• Nasser Medical Complex is operating at 180% over bed capacity and Al Amal Hospital is at 100%.
• Currently, one national and four international Emergency Medical Teams are deployed at Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals as part of efforts to provide specialized care and strengthen hospital capacity.
• Acute shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies are severely disrupting health services in all hospitals, while about 50 WHO trucks of supplies await at Al-Arish and in the West Bank.

22 May 2025 Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva – Israel’s intensified military operations continue to threaten an already weakened health system, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter.

Four major hospitals in Gaza (Kamal Adwan Hospital, Indonesia Hospital, Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, and European Gaza Hospital) have had to suspend medical services in the past week due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and attacks. WHO has recorded 28 attacks on health care in Gaza during this period and 697 attacks since October 2023.

Only 19 of Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals remain operational, including one hospital providing basic care for the remaining patients still inside the hospital, and are struggling under severe supply shortages, lack of health workers, persistent insecurity, and a surge of casualties, all while staff work in impossible conditions. Of the 19 hospitals, 12 provide a variety of health services, while the rest are only able to provide basic emergency care. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed.

The increased hostilities and new evacuation orders issued across northern and southern Gaza in the past two days threaten to push even more health facilities out of service. This includes 1 hospital, 11 primary care centres, and 13 medical points within the evacuation zones, and an additional 5 hospitals, 1 field hospital, 9 primary care centres, and 23 medical points within 1000 metres of those zones.

North Gaza has been stripped of nearly all health care. Al-Awda Hospital is only minimally functional, serving as a trauma stabilization point. It faces an imminent risk of closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access. The hospital’s third floor was reportedly attacked on Wednesday, injuring a staff member. Hostilities in the area also damaged the water tank and pipeline. Today, the hospital was attacked again. The third and fourth floors were reportedly hit, injuring two health workers. Patient triage tents, including one provided by WHO, caught fire, which also burned all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroyed vehicles in the basement. A WHO mission attempting to reach the hospital today was impeded.

The Indonesian Hospital is out of service due to continued military presence since 18 May, making it inaccessible. Yesterday, a WHO mission to the hospital was forced to abort due to the security situation after waiting nearly four hours for clearance to proceed. WHO team had planned to deliver food and water to patients, assess their conditions, and identify critical equipment for transfer. WHO tried to reach the hospital again today, but the mission was impeded.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, which had the only centre to treat patients with severe acute malnutrition in North Gaza, went out of service on 20 May after intense hostilities in its vicinity, forcing patients to evacuate or be discharged prematurely.

In southern Gaza, Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Amal, and Al-Aqsa hospitals are overwhelmed by a surge of injured people, worsened by a new wave of displacement to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The European Gaza Hospital remains out of service following an attack on 13 May, cutting off vital services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment – all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza.

Currently, across the Gaza Strip, only 2000 hospital beds remain available, for a population of over 2 million people, grossly insufficient to meet the current needs. Of these, at least 40 beds are at risk of being lost as they are in hospitals within newly declared evacuation zones, while an additional 850 could be lost if conditions deteriorate at facilities near these zones.

Continued hostilities and military presence inhibit patients from accessing care, obstruct staff from providing care, and prevent WHO and partners from resupplying hospitals.

With each hospital forced out of service, patients lose access to health care, and WHO and partners’ efforts, to sustain Gaza’s health system are undone. The destruction is systematic. Hospitals are rehabilitated and resupplied, only to be exposed to hostilities or attacked again. This destructive cycle must end.

Amid constant fear and insecurity, health workers, including those from national and international emergency medical teams, continue delivering urgent care in Gaza. WHO salutes their courage and commitment.

WHO calls for the active protection of health care. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted.

WHO calls for aid at scale to be allowed into Gaza through all possible routes, and for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach people wherever they are. Echoing the United Nations’ Relief Chief, WHO reiterates that the UN and its partners have a clear, principled and effective plan to deliver aid with safeguards against diversion, a system that has worked and must be enabled to continue.

WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.