More than 8,000 children under the age of 5 received care in the Gaza Strip for acute malnutrition and 28 of them died, the World Health Organization said today.

A significant proportion of the population of the Palestinian enclave, facing a fierce campaign of reprisals after the bloody October 7 attack on Israel, now faces a catastrophic level of food shortages and conditions approaching famine, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has explained. , during a press conference in Geneva.

“Despite reports of an increase in food deliveries, there is currently no evidence that those most in need are receiving food in sufficient quantities and of good quality,” he stressed.

In the face of this situation, the WHO and its partners have attempted to strengthen food services in the Gaza Strip, Tedros explained.

“More than 8,000 children under the age of five were diagnosed and received care for acute malnutrition, of which 1,600 children suffered from severe acute malnutrition,” he revealed.

Severe acute malnutrition is often associated with medical complications and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children.

However, due to insecurity and lack of access, only two stabilization centers for severely malnourished patients can currently operate, the WHO chief explained.

“Our inability to provide health services safely, combined with the lack of drinking water and sanitation significantly increases the risk of malnutrition for children,” he stressed.

“There are already 32 deaths attributed to malnutrition, 28 of which are among children under the age of five,” he said.

The WHO chief also insisted on the increasingly serious health crisis affecting the occupied West Bank.

Since October 7, the WHO has recorded 480 attacks on health care facilities in the West Bank, resulting in 16 deaths and 95 injuries.

In the West Bank, as in the Gaza Strip, the only solution is peace, Tedros said. “The best cure is peace.”