Gaza Health Ministry says 466 have died of hunger since 2024 — Anadolu Agency

At least 466 Palestinians, including 157 children, have died from malnutrition and hunger in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, since 2024, the Gaza Health Ministry said. According to the ministry, 189 of those who died were elderly people, accounting for 40.5% of the total number of recorded deaths.

The Gaza Health Ministry released the statistics on October 16, World Food Day, Anadolu Agency reports. The ministry said that by the end of 2026, more than 1.4 million Palestinians, or about 67% of Gaza's population, could face crisis-level food insecurity or worse.

Malnutrition among children

From 2024 through August 2026, more than 158,000 cases of acute malnutrition were recorded among children under the age of five, the Gaza Health Ministry said. It estimated that 18% of such children had severe acute malnutrition, which posed a threat to life, while 12.2% suffered from stunting.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The ministry also reported that mortality among children under five rose from 13.6 to 33.4 cases per thousand live births during 2022–2025. By April 2027, 74,200 children will require treatment for acute malnutrition, according to the ministry's estimate.

Risks for pregnant women

The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in Gaza reached 61% in 2026, compared with 41% before the war, the ministry said. In the first half of 2026, about 4,000 pregnancy losses were also registered there, more than three times as many as in the previous six months. The ministry classifies every third pregnancy in the Strip as high-risk.

The ministry called on the UN and the international community to ensure the safe, stable and unobstructed delivery of food, therapeutic nutrition and medicines to Gaza. It named children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and elderly people as priority groups.