Rafael Castro Delgado

More than 54,600 children under the age of five in Gaza are in need of medical care for acute malnutrition, according to estimates from a study published in The Lancet, which shows that the prevalence of malnutrition decreases during a ceasefire and increases during Israeli blockades of access to food, water, or medicine. For example, after four months of severe aid restrictions—between September 2024 and January 2025—malnutrition increased from 8.8% to 14.3%, with a higher incidence in Rafah and among children between 24 and 59 months of age. The study, conducted by UNRWA, is based on data from more than 219,000 children between the ages of six and 59 months from various locations in the Gaza Strip, collected between January 2024 and August 2025.

Through surveys of 78 healthcare workers in Gaza between August 2024 and February 2025, an international team has documented patterns of injuries among the civilian population during Israel's ongoing invasion. The most common traumatic injuries were burns, followed by injuries to the lower and upper limbs. Explosion damage accounted for most of the weapon-related trauma, which particularly affected the head, while gunshot wounds were mainly located in the lower limbs. The study is published in The BMJ.

A study has used geospatial data and satellite imagery to analyze the number of MK 84 bombs dropped by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip between October 7 and November 17, 2023 that detonated near hospital infrastructure. Of the 36 existing hospitals, 30 of them had suffered at least one explosion within 800 meters. According to the authors of the paper, which is published in PLOS Global Public Health, the research “reveals concerns about indiscriminate shelling near hospital infrastructure, which enjoys special protection under international humanitarian law.”