James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said on Sunday that Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip are struggling severely to secure even a single daily meal for their children.

He described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “bleak, horrific, and hopeless,” adding that bombs and missiles are entering the besieged territory in far greater quantities than food.

Elder added that hopes briefly raised by discussions of a ceasefire have all but vanished. “There was a momentary uptick in aid and slight improvements in water and food supplies,” he said. “But that optimism has quickly dissolved in the face of a catastrophic blockade on humanitarian relief.”

Families in Gaza, he noted, endure relentless nights under airstrikes and spend their days fleeing hunger and explosions. “Every known limit of human endurance has been shattered,” Elder stated.

Many families have lived in tents for over six months under continuous tank fire, and are now being forced to relocate yet again. Gaza has faced this devastating reality for more than 600 days, Elder said.

Estimating the number of children dying from hunger daily or weekly is nearly impossible under such conditions, Elder warned that malnourished children are dying from treatable illnesses.

Even accessing hospitals is no longer safe for sick or malnourished children, he said, as the remaining 19 partially functioning hospitals, of which only eight are public, lack essential medical supplies.