Starvation Used as a Weapon of War Amid Israeli Blockade

Gaza Plunges into Hunger Crisis: Starvation on the Rise

The Gaza Strip, home to approximately 2.1 million people, is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time. The situation has deteriorated sharply since March 2, 2025, when Israel imposed a full blockade on essential goods including food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.

Famine Underway Even Without Formal Declaration

While famine has not been officially declared, the indicators are unmistakable:

• Nearly half a million people are in a state of catastrophic hunger and starvation.
  
  

• Over 90% of households suffer acute food insecurity, with entire families skipping meals and resorting to extreme survival methods.
  
  

• Among households, one in four face outright starvation selling possessions and resorting to immature or expired materials for sustenance.
  
  

Children and Mothers at Extreme Risk

• Acute malnutrition rates among children under five have nearly tripled since a temporary ceasefire in early 2025, now affecting 5.8% of screened children.
  
  

• At least 57 children have died from severe malnutrition since the blockade began, and 71,000 more children under five may require urgent treatment in the coming months.
  
  

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also severely affected, with many expected to need medical nutrition interventions soon.
  
  

Aid Delivery Blocked, Alternatives Unsustainable

Massive aid shipments sit stalled outside Gaza despite urgent need. WHO warns that prepared supplies, including treatment for malnutrition, remain unused due to access restrictions. Oxfam calls the crisis “a preventable famine unfolding in real time,” insisting the starvation is deliberately engineered by siege policies that restrict aid entry.

Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) now operates just four major distribution hubs, compared to hundreds under UN coordination. The shortage of sites, combined with poor crowd control, has led to deadly stampedes and mass casualties at aid centers.

Escalating Violence at Aid Sites

• In a stampede at a GHF food site in Khan Younis, at least 20 people were trampled to death, while others were injured amid chaos and alleged gas deployment.
  
  

• On July 19, 2025, Israeli forces reportedly opened fire at crowds near aid hubs, killing 32 Palestinians ahead of distribution hours. Aid workers and international agencies condemned the incidents, with GHF rejected as a legitimate humanitarian actor by many NGOs.
  
  

Experts Warn of Legal and Ethical Breach

International bodies including WHO, Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, and UN agencies assert that starvation is being used as a weapon of war, a violation of international humanitarian law and potentially a war crime.

Breakdown of Infrastructure and Health Crisis

• The combined effect of hunger, infrastructure collapse, and disease has intensified mortality risk. Diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, scabies, and jaundice now thrive in weakened bodies.
  
  

• Power shortages have crippled healthcare and sanitation systems; more than half of Gaza’s hospitals have shut down, and many health workers have been killed or detained.
  
  

Why This Matters

• This crisis represents the highest concentration of severe hunger ever recorded in the IPC system, with Gaza hosting the smaller share of global famine risk but carrying an enormous burden.
  
  

• The global community faces accusations of failure.  Oxfam and others warn that continued inaction and siege enforcement amount to complicity in mass starvation.
  
  

• Without unconditional, safe, and sufficient humanitarian access, the death toll and suffering will only escalate in the coming months.
  

What Needs to Happen

• Immediate and complete lifting of the blockade to allow unrestricted flow of food, water, fuel, and medicine.
  
  

• Restoration of UN-led aid coordination, replacing unsafe and unreliable alternatives.
  
  

• Full protection for civilians during aid distribution, with neutral humanitarian protocols maintained.
  
  

• Accountability measures for alleged violations of international law, including potential classification of starvation tactics as a war crime or crime against humanity.
  
  

The unfolding hunger crisis in Gaza is not a future tragedy, it's happening now. With each passing day, children, mothers, and entire communities edge closer to irreversible harm. The time for global action is immediate and urgent.

Source:

Aljazeera/ AP News/ Financial Times/