In greater numbers than ever, children hollowed up by hunger are overwhelming the Patient’s Friends Hospital, the main emergency center for malnourished kids in northern Gaza.

Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives.

Motawaq's son is a year and a half old and weighs less than 10 pounds. Doctors warn of permanent damage to children's health due to chronic malnutrition from Israel's earlier blockade.

After Israeli restrictions on aid, hunger has risen across Gaza. Doctors and nurses, struggling to find food themselves, lack the resources to stem the surge.

Hunger and disease continue to stalk Palestinians in Gaza, and aid organizations are warning that children are at greatest risk of starvation. A U.N. worker has described people as "walking corpses."

The UN agency for Palestinians says it has thousands of truckloads of supplies near Gaza which it wants to deliver.

These images are part of a series highlighting the suffering of children in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster is escalating and civilians are starving.

Experts warn that Gaza is nearing famine, citing Israel’s blockade and military offensive following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The World Health Organization reports a sharp rise in malnutrition and disease,