While Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue to dominate global headlines after hundreds of days of conflict, a parallel and equally devastating crisis is unfolding — one that receives far less attention: deepening hunger. Beyond the destruction from bombs, Palestinians are dying quietly from a lack of food, BY ADD NEWSDESK
The persistent threat of starvation — repeatedly warned of by the United Nations — underscores the urgent need for a complete and immediate ceasefire. Without a halt to the fighting, the suffering will only deepen, and meaningful relief efforts cannot begin.
This humanitarian catastrophe is not the result of a natural disaster but of sustained military operations and severe restrictions that have blocked aid and denied civilians access to essential resources. The continued obstruction of humanitarian assistance and the targeting of civilians near food distribution sites violate the most basic norms of humanity. These actions must stop.
The right to food and humanitarian access is protected under international law. Yet in Gaza, this right is being systematically denied. According to UN reports, aid organizations have for months managed to bring in only limited quantities of food. All UN-supported bakeries remain closed. Prices for basic staples have skyrocketed. Nearly one in three people is going entire days without eating.
To survive, many Palestinians have been forced to adopt desperate and undignified coping strategies — fasting, shrinking portion sizes, rationing bread for children, borrowing, begging, and even scavenging from garbage bins, according to a July UN report.
Adding to the horror are repeated deadly attacks near food distribution centers. Currently, aid distribution in Gaza is managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the United States and Israel and operating within Israeli-controlled military zones.
Since the GHF began its operations in late May, there have been hundreds of reports of Israeli forces shooting civilians seeking food at these sites. While Israel has denied that its troops intentionally fired on aid recipients, more than 170 international NGOs and humanitarian groups have called for the GHF’s closure, arguing that it violates all accepted norms of humanitarian work.
The scenes emerging from Gaza — families risking their lives for a bag of flour, children going to bed hungry night after night — are a stark indictment of the international community’s failure to uphold even the most basic principles of humanitarian law.
There is a clear global responsibility to facilitate the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, protect civilians, and support diplomatic efforts to end this crisis without further delay. The world cannot continue to look away. Each day without decisive action deepens the suffering. The top priorities must be to end the violence, ease the humanitarian disaster, and restore dignity and hope to the people of Gaza.
Since October 2023 — when the conflict erupted following a deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel — Israeli military campaigns have killed more than 59,210 Palestinians and injured over 143,040, according to Gaza-based health authorities.
Meanwhile, the death toll from hunger and malnutrition has risen to 122, most of them children.
In recent developments, Egypt and Qatar have pledged to continue mediation efforts, reporting modest progress in intensive negotiations that began on July 6. In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said both countries are working toward an agreement to halt the conflict, alleviate humanitarian suffering, and facilitate the exchange of hostages and detainees.
On Thursday, Israel recalled its delegation from Doha for consultations after receiving Hamas’s latest response to a ceasefire proposal. However, Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said mediators had conveyed a “positive” assessment of the group’s response and confirmed that the Israeli delegation would return early next week to continue talks.
The U.S. negotiating team was also recalled for consultations. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the Biden administration would now explore “alternative options” for securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement Friday, said Israel is now considering new strategies for securing the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Before departing for Scotland, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House:
“We got a lot of hostages out. So now we’re down to the final hostages. Those last 10 or 20 are going to be the toughest, because Hamas knows what happens when they don’t have any bargaining chips… I don’t think Hamas is going to make a deal. I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to be hunted down.”
Asked whether he had discussed humanitarian aid access with Netanyahu, Trump said only,
“I can’t tell you what I spoke to him about, but it was sort of disappointing.”
Meanwhile, harrowing videos circulating on social media show doctors helplessly watching children waste away in Gaza’s shattered hospitals. International condemnation of Israel’s blockade is mounting, with governments and humanitarian organizations calling the siege a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.
The United Nations described the minimal aid reaching Gaza as “woefully inadequate” to stem starvation or support critical relief efforts.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished.
On Friday, tens of thousands of Yemenis held a mass protest in Sanaa, denouncing what they called the “man-made starvation” in Gaza. Demonstrators held signs reading: “Stop starvation in Gaza,” “Stop war on Gaza,” and “Lift the Israeli blockade.”
A significant political shift came Thursday when French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would officially recognize the State of Palestine at the upcoming 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 80) in September.
In response, Trump dismissed the move, saying:
“What he (Macron) says doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump’s view, calling the French decision “reckless” and reaffirming that the U.S. “strongly rejects” it.
France is the first G7 nation to declare its intent to recognize Palestine, joining more than 140 other countries that already do.
Following Macron’s announcement, he joined UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in issuing a joint declaration calling for:
- An immediate ceasefire in Gaza
- The unconditional release of all hostages
- The lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid
The leaders also pledged to work with international partners on a specific and credible plan for Gaza’s next phase. Their joint statement concluded:
“Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law. A negotiated truce is the best chance to bring the hostages home.”
