The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has accused Israel of “starving civilians”, including a million children in Gaza, by blocking vital food and medicine deliveries into the besieged enclave.
Unrwa issued the warning on Sunday, calling on Israel to lift its blockade and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely. At militarised distribution sites run by the US- and Israel-backed GHF civilians trying to access the food are being shot and killed by the Israeli army.
Since the GHF was set up in late May, nearly 900 people have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Sunday infant deaths caused by starvation are rising. “These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,” civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP, noting at least three such deaths in the past week alone.
The UN’s humanitarian affairs office warned on Sunday that families in Gaza are enduring “catastrophic hunger,” with children “wasting away” and some dying before help can reach them.
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In a statement posted on X, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said people scouring for food are being shot at, calling the situation “unconscionable.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) earlier this month said nearly one-third of Gaza’s population is going days without eating. The agency warned that thousands face catastrophic hunger and called again for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access.
Medical professionals on the ground describe a worsening situation. “We are heading into the unknown,” said Mohammed Abu Afash, director of Medical Relief in Gaza. “Malnutrition among children has reached its highest levels.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic, Abu Afash said women and children are collapsing from hunger. “Hunger is affecting everyone. The coming days could be catastrophic if food is not allowed in.”
‘People are starving’
At least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition, the Palestinian Health Miniatry has said.
Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours, including a Palestinian with special needs who succumbed to prolonged hunger and lack of access to adequate care.
Ziad Musleh, a displaced father in central Gaza, told AFP: “We are dying, our children are dying and we can’t do anything to stop it. Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs. There is absolutely no food.”
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The World Food Programme director Carl Skau, who recently visited Gaza City as part of a United Nations mission, described the humanitarian disaster as “the worst I’ve ever seen”. He said a father he met had lost 25kg in just two months. “People are starving, while we have food just across the border,” he said.
Since Israel broke a six-week ceasefire in March, Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza. Although limited aid has trickled in since late May, supplies accumulated during the truce have run out, pushing the territory into the worst shortages since the war began.
The situation is particularly dire for pregnant women and newborns. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its clinics are seeing record numbers of malnutrition cases. “Many babies are being born prematurely due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women,” said MSF doctor Joanne Perry.
She added that overcrowded neonatal units now have up to five babies sharing a single incubator. “Wounds are not healing due to protein deficiency. Infections are lingering far longer than normal. This is a full-blown crisis,” said Perry.
