New UN Study Contradicts Image of Starvation in Gaza

A new UNICEF-led survey shows very low levels of acute malnutrition among children in Gaza. The results are at or below pre-war levels and significantly lower than those in several neighboring countries. Israel argues that the figures debunk accusations that it is deliberately starving Gaza’s population.

The survey was coordinated by the Nutrition Cluster, the UNICEF-led body responsible for monitoring the nutrition situation in Gaza. The children’s weight, height, and upper arm circumference were measured and analyzed according to internationally recognized methods from the World Health Organization, WHO.

The results show that acute malnutrition, measured by so-called weight-for-height, WHZ, was between 0.2 and 0.8 percent in the surveyed areas of Gaza, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Before Hamas’s terror attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war, the corresponding level in Gaza was about 0.8 percent.

The numbers are also lower than in several other countries in the region. According to an analysis in the Jewish Chronicle, the corresponding level is about 2.9 percent in Egypt and 2.0 percent in Jordan.

Israel: “Fact triumphs over fiction”

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon believes the results are a serious setback for accusations that Israel has subjected Gaza’s population to starvation.

— Once again, fact triumphs over fiction. UN agencies admit that the false narrative against Israel is collapsing, Danon said according to the Jerusalem Post.

READ ALSO: Report: No starvation in Gaza

He continued:

— Israel is not starving children. Israel is fighting Hamas terrorism while Hamas uses civilians in Gaza as human shields. Those who quickly accused Israel must now be held accountable for spreading lies.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also highlighted the survey and concluded that there is no starvation in Gaza. The ministry has published the results on X.

Questions about the basis for earlier starvation classification

The results have also raised questions about the starvation classification that the UN-supported Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, IPC, made in parts of Gaza in August 2025. For an area to be classified at IPC’s highest level, phase 5 – famine – there must, among other criteria, be very high levels of acute malnutrition among children.

However, when the classification was made, sufficient WHZ data was lacking. IPC therefore instead used mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements of children and assumed that WHZ would normally identify about twice as many malnourished children.

Data analyst Mark Zlochin writes in the Jewish Chronicle that the new survey questions this assumption. In the new data, the WHZ level is not twice as high as the MUAC level; on the contrary, it is lower in all surveyed areas. Zlochin thus believes that the statistical basis used for the earlier famine classification must be reconsidered.

According to UNICEF, about 1.5 million people received food packages just in May. The organization also stated that nutritional support reached about 60 percent of children under five years old at that time.