Gaza Herald – For over two decades, I have served as a medical doctor, humanitarian aid worker, and mother in some of the world’s worst crises. From Syria to Yemen and Pakistan, I have treated children on the brink of death from preventable diseases, helped women give birth in war zones, and witnessed the impact of sieges and bombings on entire communities.
Despite all this, the suffering I have seen in Gaza is unlike anything I have ever encountered.
A Manufactured Famine
The Gaza Strip is collapsing under a famine that is entirely man-made. Women and children are being starved deliberately, not by natural disaster but by policy. UN experts have already described this as intentional and politically motivated starvation. It is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a war crime.
This is the most direct and brutal attack on maternal and child health I have ever witnessed. The denial of food, water, and medicine to an entire population is happening openly, while the world watches.
Aid Blocked and Weaponised
Humanitarian organizations, including mine, are repeatedly denied access to Gaza. At the same time, a so-called “humanitarian foundation” is being used to score political points or deepen the suffering of civilians. Real aid is blocked. Food, fuel, and medical supplies are withheld. Even baby formula is being rationed or cut off entirely.
According to the UN, over 71,000 children under five, along with nearly 17,000 pregnant and nursing women, need urgent treatment for severe malnutrition. More than half a million women are facing food insecurity. In neonatal units in Khan Younis and Rafah, premature infants are surviving on the last drops of formula. Some babies weigh less than 1.5 kilograms and are dying not from illness, but from hunger.
Humanitarian access is being denied while fake aid operations are used for political gain. Real relief efforts are obstructed, and life-saving items like baby formula and medical supplies are held back. This is not aid mismanagement it is aid used as a weapon.
Mothers Giving Birth in Ruins
Malnourished mothers can no longer produce breast milk. Babies like six-month-old Lina, who was born underweight and relies on formula, are now starving. Her mother, frail and anemic, is unable to breastfeed. The few cans of formula they had lasted only a few days.
Women are giving birth in makeshift shelters and destroyed clinics, often without anesthesia or clean water. Cesarean sections are being performed without pain relief. I have spoken to women like Rania, who delivered alone, in agony, and was discharged just hours later, still bleeding, with no painkillers and nowhere to rest.
This Is Not a Natural Disaster
These are not rare or isolated tragedies. They are the daily reality for people in Gaza. Health workers are helpless, watching a public health collapse unfold in front of them. This is not due to supply chain issues or lack of resources. It is the direct result of deliberate policy choices.
Under international law, using starvation as a weapon is a war crime. Human Rights Watch confirmed in April 2024 that children in Gaza were already dying of hunger. In May, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to allow humanitarian access. These orders have been ignored.
A Moral and Legal Failure
This is not just a moral disaster. It is criminal. As a doctor, I have seen the physical signs of a starving child. I have watched mothers lose hope as their babies become too weak to cry. I have held lifeless bodies that could have been saved.
No one should witness this even once. In Gaza, this is the norm. And the world remains silent.
What Must Be Done Now
Immediate action is needed. Humanitarian corridors must be opened to allow the safe and consistent delivery of food, fuel, medicine, and infant formula. Emergency medical zones for maternity and newborn care must be created and supported.
Governments must fund and implement maternal and child nutrition programs through the UN and independent aid organizations. Acute malnutrition treatment must be expanded. Formula must be delivered quickly and at scale.
This is not a matter of writing new laws. The laws already exist. What is needed now is enforcement.
A Warning for the Future
Failing to act not only endangers Gaza’s children, but sets a dangerous precedent for future wars. Allowing Israel to violate international law so openly tells other regimes that they, too, can act with impunity.
This is a medical emergency. It is a humanitarian emergency. It is a moral emergency. And it demands a response that matches the scale of the horror.
As a humanitarian, I am calling for action. As a doctor, I am calling for population-level triage. And as a mother, I ask the world: how can we accept this?
This is not just a crisis. It is a test of global conscience. The starvation of Gaza’s children is not a consequence of war; it is a tactic of war. And it is illegal. International law is clear, and so is our moral obligation. Humanitarian corridors must be opened, medical care restored, and aid allowed to flow freely. Anything less is complicity. As a doctor, I call for immediate intervention. As a humanitarian, I demand justice. And as a mother, I ask: how many more children must die before the world decides they are worth saving?
Editor’s Note: This article is a restructured adaptation of an original op-ed written by Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, a medical doctor, humanitarian aid worker, and advocate for global justice. The views and experiences presented are drawn from her firsthand account of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
