The United Nations has warned that the alarming food shortage and the rapid spread of diseases may lead to an “explosion” in the number of child deaths in the Gaza Strip.

After 20 weeks of Israel's war against Hamas, UN agencies said that food and clean water had become "very scarce" in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and that almost all young children were suffering from infectious diseases.

Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of UNICEF, said Gaza is about to witness “an explosion in preventable child deaths, which could double the already unbearable level of child mortality.”

At least 90 percent of children under the age of five in Gaza are affected by one or more infectious diseases, according to a report issued by UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme. 70 percent had had diarrhea in the past two weeks, a 23-fold increase compared to 2022.

Rafah, one of the most densely populated places on Earth, now houses half of Gaza's population, many of whom have been displaced multiple times due to the war.

For his part, Mike Ryan, in charge of emergency situations at the World Health Organization, said: “Hunger and disease are a deadly combination,” adding: “Hungry, weak, and severely traumatized children are more vulnerable to disease. Sick children, especially those with diarrhea, cannot absorb nutrients well.

According to a United Nations assessment, more than 15% of children under the age of two, or one in six, suffer from “acute malnutrition” in northern Gaza, and are almost completely deprived of humanitarian aid.

UN agencies warned that “this data was collected in January, and the current situation is likely to be more serious.”

In the southern Gaza Strip, 5 percent of children under the age of two suffer from acute malnutrition, according to the assessment.

The UN agencies said that “this deterioration in the nutritional situation” of people within three months is “unprecedented in the world.”

The death toll from the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip rose on Monday to 29,029 dead and 69,028 wounded since October 7.