Lifesaving food for starving children in Gaza to run out by mid-August, warn UN agencies

Gaza Strip: Gaza is on the verge of a full-blown famine, with over 100 already dead from starvation and thousands of severely malnourished children at risk, United Nations agencies warned.

Stocks of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), essential for treating children suffering

from severe malnutrition will be soon over, the United Nations and aid agencies warned on Thursday.

UNICEF spokesperson Salim Oweis said only enough supplies remain to treat 3,000 children, even as 5,000 were treated in just the first half of July. “That’s really dangerous,” he told Reuters, stressing the looming health crisis.

RUTF, including high-energy biscuits and milk-enriched peanut paste, is critical for saving lives. Supplies could run out completely by mid-August, while the World Health Organization said most stock had already been consumed and remaining supplies would run out “very soon.”

A nutrition programme targeting pregnant women and children under five also faces shutdown. Aid groups like Save the Children said they haven’t been able to bring in their own supplies since February and are depending on

UN deliveries.