A five-year-old boy sits on his mattress in a shelter courtyard surrounded by several hundred other displaced people. Photo © UNICEF/Eyad El Baba.

Six months into the full-scale invasion of Gaza, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels. With 30,000 Palestinians dead, dozens of children succumbing to hunger, and over half a million Gazans facing starvation, the situation is dire. Continuous Israeli bombings and severe restrictions on the entry of lifesaving goods have exacerbated the plight of the population, prompting a desperate scramble from the UN to respond.

Gaza Strip. Six months into the full-scale invasion of Gaza, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels. With 30,000 Palestinians dead, dozens of children succumbing to hunger, and over half a million Gazans facing starvation, the situation is dire.

Continuous Israeli bombings and severe restrictions on the entry of lifesaving goods have exacerbated the plight of the population, prompting a desperate scramble from the U.N. to respond.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a 50 percent reduction in aid deliveries into Gaza, attributing the decline to a lack of political will and security assurances amid ongoing Israeli military operations and the collapse of civil order.

As the crisis deepens, some nations are reportedly bypassing Israeli restrictions by airdropping food bundles, while the United States plans to construct a temporary port in Gaza to ensure aid deliveries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) team delivered emergency medical supplies and trauma kits to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in January.

WHO’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned, “Children who survived bombardment may not survive a famine,” highlighting that one in six children in Gaza is currently dangerously malnourished.

Many children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and drastic weight loss. In mid-February, three-year-old Akram was screened for malnutrition at a UNICEF tent in Rafah.

Emergency missions by U.N. agencies and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were deployed in late February to assess conditions and deliver vital aid and medical supplies to Gaza hospitals.

Children account for around half of the almost two million Gazans who have been forced to leave their homes and search for shelter elsewhere in the Strip, since Israel’s current military operation began. The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates that around 17,000 have been orphaned.

Due to the sheer lack of food, water or shelter, extended families are distressed and face challenges to immediately take care of another child as they themselves are struggling to cater for their own children and family.

Find out how to help the children of Gaza here.