UN agencies say famine is imminent in Gaza, with food and medicine stuck just minutes from the border.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an urgent warning on Thursday about the worsening health crisis in Gaza, stressing that time is running out to save lives amid the ongoing Israeli blockade.
The alert comes as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, confirmed that Israel is fully aware of the dire situation in Gaza and shares the UN’s assessment of the high risk of famine.
According to WHO, Gaza’s health system is on the brink of collapse, grappling with acute shortages of medicine, medical supplies, and essential equipment.
European #Gaza Hospital is no longer functional after an attack on 13 May left it severely damaged and inaccessible.
After being there yesterday. @WHO reached the hospital again today to relocate one international Emergency Medical Team—who continued working through the… pic.twitter.com/1gJm66QcUl
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 15, 2025
As the main provider of medical aid in the enclave, the organization said its supplies are nearly exhausted—jeopardizing the continuity of critical health services.
Despite shipments being positioned just minutes away, the ongoing blockade is preventing their entry, forcing hospitals to severely ration what little they have left. WHO warned that this delay is costing lives and called for an immediate end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
A Race against Famine
The World Food Programme (WFP) also sounded the alarm, stating that families in Gaza are facing starvation while vital food aid remains stuck at border crossings. The agency emphasized that recent food security analyses confirm the urgency: the world is in a race against time to avert full-scale famine.
The WFP called on the international community to act swiftly, warning that waiting for famine to be officially declared will come too late for countless civilians in Gaza.
In a separate interview with Al-Jazeera, Tom Fletcher reiterated that the UN had been sidelined for over ten weeks and unable to deliver aid.
🚨 UNIFIED CALL TO CONFRONT FAMINE IN GAZA
Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid since 2 March 2025.
UNICEF: Children are “going to bed starving.”
WFP & UNRWA have run out of supplies.
This is deliberate. This is starvation as a weapon.
📢Launch the Diplomatic Humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/hcu3wZCIVz— Law for Palestine | القانون من أجل فلسطين (@Law4Palestine) May 12, 2025
“We have an excellent plan to deliver large-scale assistance. It worked during the ceasefire, and we need full, unhindered access again—now—not under restricted conditions,” he stated.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq added that the organization’s humanitarian response plan is fully developed and ready for immediate deployment as soon as border crossings are reopened. He stressed that any further delays will result in more preventable deaths.
Ongoing Genocide
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 52,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
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Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(PC, AJA)
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