Stories from the war in Gaza: Supporting malnourished children

Sana was born on 12 May 2024 in the north of Gaza. From when she was born until now, her life has been a story of war. Her father was killed in the war, leaving her mother to care for four children alone, with no income or support.

Sana lives with her family in a tent in the Al-Shati camp. Conditions are extremely difficult. Due to the collapsed economy and skyrocketing prices, her mother struggles to provide the children with the most basic needs, such as food, water and clothing. Some days, the children go without even a piece of bread.

Sana’s mother says: “I stand in line from early morning at the community kitchen to get food for my children. If there is no food, they stay hungry, crying from the pain, and I cry with them because I cannot help.”

Displacement and frequent movement between shelters mean the family have lost their possessions, including clothing. All four children suffer from skin diseases and intestinal infections, as well as diarrhoea due to the lack of clean water and poor sanitation facilities. Even nappies for little Sana are unaffordable.

Embrace partner, the Near East Council of Churches (NECC), runs clinics throughout Gaza, which offer essential health services including mother and child health interventions. Growing increasingly worried about her baby daughter, Sana’s mother brought her to their local NECC clinic in June 2025. The medical team found that Sana was stunted, with visible signs of severe malnutrition, including swollen limbs, a distended abdomen, fluid retention and difficulty breathing. They immediately enrolled her in their malnutrition treatment programme.

Sadly, malnutrition is increasing for children in Gaza. The IPC, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, has warned that ‘the worst-case scenario of famine’ is now unfolding. Following months of Israel’s restrictions on aid delivery into Gaza, the entire population is experiencing food insecurity. In July, UNRWA (the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency) reported that one in five children in Gaza City were malnourished, and that cases were increasing every day. This month, the UN has stated that severe acute malnutrition – the most life-threatening form – is on the rise, with humanitarian access constraints adding to the crisis.

Over the past month, the NECC clinic has supported Sana through regular check-ups and nutritional supplements. Her weight and height have improved as a result, although her upper arm circumference decreased slightly, reflecting the ongoing crisis and food scarcity.

Yet despite the huge operational constraints and lack of food and medical supplies, the NECC medical staff continue to serve the people of Gaza with compassion and faithfulness. Their refusal to give up, and their commitment to restoring the health and humanity of children in Gaza, is deeply inspiring.

Despite the ongoing challenges and continued lack of essential supplies, Sana’s mother is grateful for the care and support her baby daughter received from the NECC. “I thank the Near East Council of Churches and the supporters for helping improve my daughter’s condition and giving her the care she needed,” she says.