NEW YORK, Nov 29 (APP): High levels of malnutrition continue to endanger the lives and well-being of children in the Gaza Strip, compounded by the onset of winter weather accelerating the spread of disease and increasing the risk of death among the most vulnerable children, according to the UN agency for children, UNICEF.

A press release said nutrition screenings conducted by UNICEF and partners identified almost 9,300 children under 5 years of age with acute malnutrition in October, down from 11,746 children in September and 14,363 children in August. While this downward trend demonstrates progress in treating and preventing acute malnutrition among children in Gaza, October still marks one of the highest monthly admissions rates on record, and is nearly five times higher than in February 2025, during the previous ceasefire.

“Despite progress, thousands of children under the age of five remain acutely malnourished in Gaza, while many more lack proper shelter, sanitation and protection against winter,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Saturday. “Too many children in Gaza are still facing hunger, illness and exposure to cold temperatures, conditions that are putting their lives at risk. Every minute counts to protect these children.”

More food supplies have entered Gaza in recent weeks, driving down market prices and improving families’ access to food, it was pointed out. However, many essential items, particularly animal-source foods, remain unavailable or unaffordable for most. A UNICEF survey of families conducted in October found that 2 in 3 children under 5 years of age ate two or fewer food groups out of the recommended eight food groups the week prior, mostly grains, bread, or flour.

As winter weather sets in, thousands of displaced families remain in makeshift shelters without warm clothes, blankets, or protection from the elements, while heavy rains have washed waste and sewage through floodwaters and into populated areas, UNICEF said.

With poor sanitation, overcrowding and limited access to safe water, disease spreads rapidly and disproportionately affects young children. The combination of malnutrition and disease is especially lethal: each condition accelerates and worsens the other. Further, cold temperatures dramatically increase the body’s energy needs, putting malnourished children, who lack fat and muscle reserves, at severe risk of hypothermia.

UNICEF said it has scaled up its nutrition response in the Gaza Strip, especially in Gaza City, where famine was confirmed in August. Here, the number of acute malnutrition treatment points has increased from seven to 26 since the ceasefire, allowing improved access to life-saving services to children suffering from acute malnutrition. Moreover, since the ceasefire, UNICEF has brought more than 5,000 family tents, 247,000 tarpaulins, 692,000 blankets, 50,500 mattresses, and 206,000 sets of winter clothes into Gaza.

However, it said, the distributed supplies are not being replaced quickly enough with the significant volume of winter supplies awaiting entry at the borders, and called for the safe, rapid and unimpeded movement of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, in line with international humanitarian law.

In this regard, UNICEF urged all parties to:

— Simultaneously open all crossings into the Gaza Strip, with simplified and expedited clearance procedures and the clear prioritisation of the entry of humanitarian supplies;

— Allow humanitarian relief to move through all feasible supply routes, including via Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank; and,

— Permit the urgent entry, at scale, of a full range of life-saving and life-sustaining supplies, including items previously denied or restricted.

Also, UNICEF called for water treatment chemicals, spare parts and supplies for the repair, maintenance and operation of water and wastewater systems to enter Gaza at the required scale to meet water and sanitation needs of the enclave.