By The Daily Wire (World News) | Created at 2026-08-11 17:26:05 | Updated at 2026-08-11 18:06:06
6 hours ago
A recently published survey backed by the United Nations shows acute malnutrition among young children in Gaza at or below prewar levels, undermining claims that Israel deliberately starved the population during the war.
“During the war in Gaza, Israel was accused by many countries and by many U.N. officials that we deliberately starved the population in Gaza. That was a blood libel,” Israeli Ambassador Danon told Fox News on Tuesday. “When we actually answered those claims and asked our colleagues where they got the data, the answer was that they relied on Hamas reports.”
The Gaza SMART nutrition survey, coordinated by the UNICEF-led Nutrition Cluster and presented by the State of Palestine Nutrition Cluster on July 22, 2026, examined 1,335 children under age 5. The assessment covered regions home to about 83% of Gaza’s population. Roughly 17% of the population could not be surveyed because of security and operational constraints.
The survey recorded acute malnutrition rates between 0.2%-0.8% using weight-for-height measurements, with a global estimate around 0.5%. Using mid-upper arm circumference, the rate stood at 1.3%. Evaluators concluded there was “no widespread acute malnutrition at population level.” The rates were significantly lower than those in neighboring countries.
Danon argued that the latest figures debunked earlier starvation claims and said previous numbers drawn from Hamas sources were fabricated. “For the future, we shouldn’t count on a terrorist organization. We are a reliable country, we share data, we share concerns regarding humanitarian issues, and we should not collaborate with terrorists,” he said.
He pointed to specific past statements by senior international officials. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, in a 2025 BBC interview about border access, said 14,000 babies were at risk of dying within 48 hours without immediate nutritional aid. That figure was later clarified as an 11-month projection involving children at risk of severe malnutrition.
“That was false and did not happen. Using starvation and babies to spread blood libels against Israel is outrageous,” Danon said. “We care about babies in Gaza more than those making these allegations against us.”
Danon mentioned that Israel maintained records of food supplies entering the territory throughout the conflict. “In terms of the food coming into Gaza, that was very easy for us to prove because we control the checkpoints and count the number of trucks coming in,” he explained.
The survey results arrive as prominent Left-wing and anti-Israel politicians have continued to push the claim that Israel has been starving people in Gaza.
Last year, then-New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani posted, “Netanyahu said he’d allow aid into Gaza. He lied. For nearly 80 days, nothing has reached Gaza’s soup kitchens, bakeries, or hospitals. Thousands of babies — and countless adults — are being starved by the Israeli government. This is a heinous war crime, one that should shock and anger every single one of us.”
In a July 25, 2025, statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said, “After many months of Israel blocking humanitarian aid, children and other vulnerable people are starving to death in increasing numbers. The World Food Programme says that the food crisis has reached ‘new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row.’ Children’s bodies are eating themselves from within, their organs are shutting down.
“Doctors themselves are fainting from hunger,” Sanders added.
