Conflict in Gaza: World Health Organization issues dire warning of impending famine emergency in Gaza region
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to escalate, with over 2.1 million residents facing severe food insecurity and widespread malnutrition. The situation has been exacerbated by a total blockade imposed by Israel since March 2025, which has halted the entry of food, fuel, water, medicine, and humanitarian supplies into the enclave.
The Israeli blockade and military operations have severely restricted humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza, resulting in the destruction of agricultural land and homes, eliminating local food sources and livelihoods. This, combined with an ongoing military campaign, has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, economy, and food availability.
The new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by Israel and the US, was established to replace the UN's aid system but has been ineffective and even deadly, contributing to humiliation and inadequate food supplies distributed to Gazans.
The effects of the hunger crisis are severe and widespread. Over one million Palestinians face emergency food insecurity, with rising rates of severe malnutrition and disease linked to hunger and poor sanitation. Children are particularly affected, with at least 21 children under the age of five dying from malnutrition-related conditions since the beginning of the year. Cases of severe malnutrition such as Marasmus and chronic diarrhea have been documented among infants and young children, worsened by the lack of specialized therapeutic foods blocked from entering Gaza.
Families are resorting to extreme survival measures, such as dividing a single piece of bread among multiple members and children sleeping hungry. The psychological and social impacts include widespread despair, humiliation, and grief due to starvation and loss of homes and livelihoods.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and numerous NGOs like the International Rescue Committee have highlighted the urgent need for unrestricted humanitarian access to prevent mass famine and avoidable deaths, especially among vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.
WFP reported that 90,000 women and children urgently need medical treatment in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv, displaying photos of children from the Gaza Strip who are said to have died from hunger-related causes, and carrying bags of flour to raise awareness of the crisis in Gaza.
However, the Israeli government denies the existence of a "famine" in the Gaza Strip, but acknowledges hunger. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has reported instances of theft of relief packages, with no one present to distribute them. The UN denies claims that they are not picking up trucks already in the Gaza Strip and bringing them to the people.
In summary, Gaza’s hunger crisis results from a deliberate blockade and military actions that block aid and destroy food sources, causing extreme food insecurity, malnutrition, and death. Humanitarian actors warn that this situation must be urgently addressed through unfettered aid access to prevent mass famine and avoidable deaths.
- The Israeli blockade and military operations have not only disrupted humanitarian aid but also destroyed agriculture and homes in Gaza, eliminating local food sources and livelihoods.
- The general news of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza reveals over one million Palestinians facing emergency food insecurity, with rising rates of severe malnutrition and disease linked to hunger and poor sanitation.
- The lack of adequate food supplies in Gaza has led to desperate survival measures among families, such as dividing food among multiple members and children sleeping hungry.
- The healthcare sector, including the World Health Organization and World Food Programme, stresses the urgent need for unrestricted humanitarian access to prevent mass famine and avoidable deaths, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women.
- Apart from the health-and-wellness crisis, the mental-health effects of the hunger crisis are severe, with widespread despair, humiliation, and grief due to starvation and loss of homes and livelihoods.
