AI-written summary of reporting by Fox News. No human editor reviewed this. AI can misread or omit facts — read the original, linked below.
ABSTRACT

The U.S. State Department said a UNICEF-led nutrition survey of children in Gaza 'completely shatters' allegations that Israel deliberately starved civilians in the territory, citing malnutrition rates the department described as comparable to or lower than those in neighboring countries. The UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster report assessed 1,335 children under age 5 across 83% of the Gaza Strip.

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U.S. State Department cites UNICEF nutrition data to contest allegations of deliberate starvation in Gaza

U.S. State Department cites UNICEF nutrition data to contest allegations of deliberate starvation in Gaza
Aug 13, 2026, 10:00 AM

The U.S. State Department said a UNICEF-led nutrition survey of children in Gaza 'completely shatters' allegations that Israel deliberately starved civilians in the territory, citing malnutrition rates the department described as comparable to or lower than those in neighboring countries. The UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster report assessed 1,335 children under age 5 across 83% of the Gaza Strip.

Context

The UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster survey measured malnutrition using weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). WHZ figures ranged from 0.2% in Khan Younis and Rafah to 0.8% in Gaza City; MUAC measurements ranged from 1.5% in Gaza City to 1.9% in Deir Al-Balah. Approximately 17% of the population could not be surveyed due to security and operational constraints.

The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted on X that acute malnutrition figures in the region range from 1.3% in Gaza, Lebanon, and Turkey to 2.3% in Jordan, 3.3% in Egypt, 12.2% in Syria, and 17.7% in Sudan.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated in August 2025 that famine had been confirmed in Gaza Governorate, and at that time estimated that at least 132,000 children under 5 were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition through June 2026, including 41,000 severe cases at heightened risk of death. The IPC is expected to release a fuller report in the coming days; ahead of that release, it assessed the Gaza Strip would be in Phase 2, the alert phase, between July and December 2026, with 74,200 children aged 6–59 months likely requiring treatment for acute malnutrition through April 2027, including more than 11,400 severe cases.

Hamas carried out an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 Israeli and foreign nationals hostage, according to the source. Israel subsequently launched a military campaign in Gaza, which drew international allegations of genocide and deliberate starvation tactics. The UNICEF July report stated that 'very few confirmed nutrition-related deaths have been reported during treatment' in Gaza.

All Perspectives
U.S. State Department: A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that 'UNICEF's latest findings demonstrate another example that completely shatters the countless false allegations against Israel of deliberate starvation of civilians in Gaza. There are U.N. entities, media outlets and NGOs that should retract and correct their politicized and baseless attacks on Israel – which has provided an unprecedented over 2 million tons of food into Gaza since the ceasefire.' The spokesperson added that 'the United States, in coordination with Israel, have facilitated humanitarian assistance while taking important steps to prevent Hamas from diverting or looting the aid, providing more support to Gazans.'
UNICEF (Kurtis Cooper, Chief of Global Media): Kurtis Cooper told Fox News Digital that 'the recent nutrition survey measures conditions in mid-2026, more than nine months after the IPC confirmed famine in August 2025 and after a ceasefire and substantial scale-up in humanitarian assistance.'
Andrew Fox, Henry Jackson Society: Andrew Fox, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that 'the new data shows that the allegations of famine in Gaza were pure hysteria.' He said that while 'certain small pockets of hunger occurred in Gaza, we now know this can only have been an issue of distribution. Once again, international organizations removed Hamas and their share of the blame for Gaza's suffering from the conversation, stoking the anti-Israel narrative.'
Prof. Aron Troen, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Prof. Aron Troen, director of the Nutrition and Brain Health Laboratory at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital the UNICEF findings were 'very, very good news,' describing it as 'remarkable that in an area which was very recently claimed to be experiencing not only famine, but a deliberate and imposed political famine, that the situation has gone to the point that the current measures, and at least some of them, right now are better than…other places in the Arab world.' He also said 'if one wishes to take seriously the efforts to identify humanitarian need and provide an adequate response, then you have to be just as open to the good news as to the bad news,' and criticized 'narratives' surrounding the report 'that serve political agendas.'
Position not represented in the source reporting: IPC; UN entities and NGOs referenced by the State Department as having made starvation allegations.
Gaps & Unknowns
  • The IPC did not respond to questions about UNICEF's findings or whether it stands by its prior determination that famine had been reached in Gaza, according to the source.
  • The source does not state the specific date or month in 2025 when the UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster survey was conducted.
  • The source does not provide the methodology or sourcing behind COGAT's regional malnutrition comparison figures posted on X.
  • The source does not state whether the UNICEF survey findings have been peer-reviewed or independently verified.
  • The source does not explain how or whether the ceasefire affected access for aid delivery or the survey itself.
  • The source text supplied appears truncated; some material may be missing.
Sources & Further Reading
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