ISTANBUL

More than 2,700 Palestinian children were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in Gaza amid a crippling Israeli siege on the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday.

“The crisis has reached unprecedented levels of despair as people continue to go hungry across Gaza,” UNRWA said in a statement.

“Over 2.700 children under 5 diagnosed with acute malnutrition in late May,” it added.

The UN agency said that only one medical center remained partially operating in northern Gaza amid severe shortages of fuel stocks.

“Humanitarian access must be urgently restored,” UNRWA said.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

As Israel has continued to close all Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian aid since early March, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.