More than 2,700 children below the age of five in Gaza have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, marking a steep increase in the number of children suffering from the serious medical condition since screening in February, the United Nations reports, according to Al Jazeera.

Of almost 47,000 under-fives screened for malnutrition in the second half of May, 5.8 percent (or 2,733 children) were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, “almost triple the proportion of children diagnosed with malnutrition” three months earlier, the UN said on Thursday.

The number of children with severe acute malnutrition requiring admission to hospital also increased by around double in May compared with earlier months, according to the report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to data from the Nutrition Cluster cited by OCHA, more than 16,500 children below the age of five have been detected and treated for severe acute malnutrition in Gaza since January, including 141 children with complications requiring hospitalization.

Despite the increase in children suffering serious malnutrition and requiring hospitalization, “there are currently only four stabilization centers for the treatment of [severe acute malnutrition] with medical complications in the Gaza Strip,” the OCHA report states.

“Stabilization centers in North Gaza and Rafah have been forced to suspend operations, leaving children in these areas without access to lifesaving treatment,” it adds.