Gaza Herald — The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening at an alarming pace as Israel maintains a total blockade that has halted the entry of food and humanitarian assistance, creating conditions the World Food Programme (WFP) says amount to collective punishment.
People are dying as the siege drags on, leaving markets completely empty and families unable to find anything to eat or feed their children. Access to food has become nearly impossible, and many have gone without eating for days.
WFP estimates that approximately 71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers are in urgent need of treatment for acute malnutrition, with rates of undernutrition among women and children rising at an alarming rate.
In an official statement, WFP warned that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are now on the brink of catastrophic hunger, noting that one in three people in the enclave has not eaten for days at a time.
The organization also confirmed that its warehouses in Gaza are now empty and called for immediate international action to pressure Israel to lift the blockade and allow food and humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
During a visit to Gaza City on July 1 and 2, WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau met with families and witnessed the deteriorating conditions firsthand. He described this as his fourth visit since the start of the conflict and the worst situation he has seen.
Skau recounted harrowing scenes: people dying while trying to obtain food; kitchens reduced to serving nothing but hot water with a few pieces of floating pasta; a mother fainting from hunger at a community kitchen and returning home empty-handed; and a father who had lost 25 kilograms in just two months.
Skau stressed that people in Gaza are starving while food is available just across the border. He urged the international community to act immediately to prevent a full-scale famine and to ensure the safe and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
