Gaza Herald– A catastrophic humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza, with the World Food Programme (WFP) confirming that one-third of Palestinians in the besieged territory have gone without food for days.
According to the UN agency, nearly half a million people, almost a quarter of Gaza’s population, are now living in “famine-like conditions,” a direct consequence of systematic Israeli obstruction of aid and the continued assault on civilians and infrastructure.
In a stark warning issued this week, the WFP stated: “An agreed ceasefire is the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner, wherever they are across the Gaza Strip.”
The WFP estimates it has enough food pre-positioned or en route to sustain the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza for nearly three months, but is being prevented from distributing it due to Israeli blockades, airstrikes on aid convoys, and a collapsed logistics system. Aid workers on the ground report that even when convoys are approved, they are often attacked or looted, and distribution points have become deadly traps for starving civilians.
A Manufactured Famine
This famine is not the result of a natural disaster; it is a man-made catastrophe.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have imposed a total siege on Gaza, cutting off access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine. Despite international pressure, border crossings remain tightly restricted, and food distribution mechanisms have collapsed under bombardment. Dozens of aid workers and thousands of displaced civilians have been killed near aid zones, including in recent mass shootings during food distributions in Rafah and Gaza City.
More than 34 children have died from hunger and dehydration in northern Gaza alone, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. However, humanitarian groups warn the real number is far higher and growing daily, especially in areas where medical teams have been forced to abandon hospitals due to Israeli strikes or lack of resources.
The Human Toll
According to UN estimates:
500,000+ people are on the brink of starvation
1.1 million people are in “emergency” food insecurity conditions (IPC Phase 4)
Every third child under 5 in northern Gaza is acutely malnourished
More than 70% of the population is displaced, with many living in rubble or makeshift tents without basic services
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently called the crisis in northern Gaza “the worst we’ve seen anywhere in the world this century”.
Political Blockade of Aid
While food supplies sit idle at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings or rot in warehouses awaiting Israeli approval, Israeli authorities have continued to accuse aid groups of failing to deliver. Yet multiple independent investigations, including by the UN and rights groups, have confirmed that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, in direct violation of international humanitarian law.
Israeli ministers have publicly advocated for the use of hunger as leverage. In a now-deleted post, Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter referred to the siege as part of a strategy to “create pressure from within by hunger.” Such admissions have fueled calls for international accountability.
Global Reactions and Inaction
Despite clear warnings from the WFP, WHO, and UNICEF, the international response remains sluggish and fragmented. The United States and several EU member states continue to back Israel diplomatically and militarily, even as Gaza’s population is pushed into what UN experts have called a textbook case of genocide.
The recent leak of an internal EU report (published by Belgian outlet VRT) exposed further complicity, with detailed documentation of how certain European governments, particularly the Netherlands, enabled the siege through arms exports and diplomatic shielding.
A Call for Action
Aid organizations warn that without an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the famine in Gaza will become irreversible within weeks. The WFP and humanitarian actors are ready to respond, but cannot do so under fire and blockade.
Gaza’s man-made famine is not just a humanitarian emergency, it is a moral catastrophe. The world knows what is happening. The question is whether it will act in time.
