SRINAGAR: As Israeli forces intensified their assault on Gaza City on Wednesday, the United Nations reported the death of another malnourished child whose struggle had drawn international attention. Jana, a nine-year-old girl previously highlighted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), succumbed to acute malnutrition on September 17 after months of battling hunger, according to UN News.
According to Palestinian health authorities, at least 151 children have died from acute malnutrition in Gaza since the conflict began, most of them in 2025. UNICEF said Jana’s death underscored the devastating impact of Israel’s restrictions on aid, which have left food and medical supplies desperately scarce.
“Jana was failed so many times,” said UNICEF Communication Manager Tess Ingram, recalling that the girl had been evacuated for treatment more than a year ago and briefly recovered. “Her last hope, medical evacuation out of Gaza, failed her. No country stepped up and was able to get Jana out.”
The tragedy follows the death of Jana’s two-year-old sister, Jouri, on August 20, also from malnutrition. UNICEF warned that Gaza’s shattered healthcare system cannot provide adequate care, with just 14 hospitals across the territory still functioning and overwhelmed by trauma cases.
Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly stressed that children in Gaza face a catastrophic nutrition crisis. UNICEF said that all 320,000 children under the age of five are now at risk of acute malnutrition. In July alone, 13,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – a 500 per cent increase since January.
“This war must end now. Aid must be allowed into the Gaza Strip, including food and nutrition supplies. The children of Gaza are being punished by these decisions, and it is killing them,” Ingram said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has coordinated medical evacuations for 7,841 patients since the war erupted in October 2023, more than 5,300 of them children. But thousands remain on waiting lists, and humanitarians say more countries must agree to accept evacuated patients.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Athanasios Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and acting Gaza Team Lead. “Many more medevac missions are needed, and many more receiving countries are needed.”
UNICEF and WHO continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and urgent international action to save Gaza’s children.
