Medics aim to screen thousands of Gaza children for malnutrition amid Israel-Hamas war

Until now the worst of severe hunger has been in the north of Gaza, with a UN-backed report warning of imminent famine in March.

 Displaced Palestinian family takes shelter in tents at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip (photo credit: REUTERS/SALEH SALEM)
Displaced Palestinian family takes shelter in tents at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip
(photo credit: REUTERS/SALEH SALEM)

Medics in Gaza said on Monday they were working to step up screening of young children for severe malnutrition amid fears that hunger is spreading as people flee to new areas.

Aid group International Medical Corps (IMC) and partners are planning to reach more than 200,000 children under 5 years old as part of a 'Find and Treat' campaign, one of its doctors, Mumawwar Said, told Reuters by phone.

"With the displacement, communities are settling in new locations that do not have access to clean water, or there is not adequate access to food," he said. "We fear there are more cases being missed."

Over the weekend, families were already coming into an IMC clinic in the central city of Deir al-Balah, opened after the agency said it had to shut down two centers in the southern city of Rafah due to insecurity.

Five-year-old Jana Ayad had weighed just 9 kilograms when she arrived, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting, Nutrition Officer Raghda Ibrahim Qeshta told Reuters as she carefully held the child

 Palestinian children react near the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 24, 2924. (credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
Palestinian children react near the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 24, 2924. (credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

"My daughter was dying in front of me," said Nasma Ayad as she sat next to the bed. "I didn't know what to do."

Jana had started putting on some weight after treatment, medics said, but she was still painfully thin with her ribs showing as she lay listlessly in her bunny pajamas.

Staff can gauge nutrition levels by measuring the circumference of children's arms. During a Reuters cameraman's short visit at least two of the measurements were in the yellow band, indicating a risk of malnutrition. IMC data so far shows the most vulnerable are babies and infants up to two-years-old.

UN-led agencies estimate around 7% of Gazan children are acutely malnourished

A group of UN-led aid agencies estimates that around 7% of Gazan children may be acutely malnourished, compared with 0.8% before the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

Until now the worst of severe hunger has been in the north, with a UN-backed report warning of imminent famine in March.


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But aid workers worry it could spread to central and southern areas due to the upheaval around Rafah that has displaced more than 1 million people and constrained supply flows through southern corridors.

Israel launched its military operation in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

It says it has expanded efforts to facilitate aid flows into Gaza and blames international aid agencies for distribution problems inside the enclave.