For Somalia's malnourished children, already suffering the twin catastrophes of looming famine and radical cuts in foreign aid, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran means more than soaring petrol pump prices; it is a matter of life and death.

Shortages of lifesaving therapeutic foods exacerbated by shipping disruptions are forcing clinics to turn away severely malnourished children and ration supplies, reports show.

Almost half a million children under 5 suffer from "severe acute malnutrition" or "wasting," the most life-threatening form of hunger, and the delays are worsening the effect of the ?aid reductions.