Exclusive: UNICEF Warns Of Escalating Child Malnutrition And Hospital Collapse In Gaza, Calls For Immediate Ceasefire

In an exclusive interview with Megha Sharma, Senior Executive Editor of NewsX World, UNICEF Communication Specialist and Gaza Spokesperson Rosalia Bollen painted a grim picture of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and urged urgent international action to protect children and mothers.

Bollen said civilian safety has “only gotten worse” in recent months, with intensified military operations around Gaza City and mass displacement orders leaving over a million people half of them children in dire conditions. “Famine was just declared in Gaza City, and malnutrition rates are soaring. There is no safe space in Gaza, and sadly today, that still holds true,” she stressed.

UNICEF currently operates 140 nutrition points across Gaza. According to Bollen, acute malnutrition among children under five has increased by over 500% between February and July, with nearly 13,000 children diagnosed in July alone. Many of the worst cases involve children too weak to stand, eat, or even cry.

Responding to claims by Israeli leaders that famine reports are “propaganda,” Bollen emphasized that UNICEF teams on the ground are documenting the crisis firsthand. “It is appalling that the debate has shifted this way when children are dying of hunger,” she said.

On Gaza’s collapsing health system, Bollen described overcrowded, heavily damaged hospitals lacking fuel, medicine, and equipment. Neonatal units, she noted, often have “four to six babies stacked into a single incubator,” while surgeries are sometimes performed without anesthesia.

Her strongest appeal was for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire” to stop the killing of children, secure the release of hostages, and allow humanitarian aid to flow. “The solution is within reach—we now need the political will to make it happen,” Bollen told NewsX World.

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