Gaza’s Health Ministry warns of a deepening famine, as hospitals report nine new starvation deaths and humanitarian agencies accuse Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Thursday that the number of Palestinians who have died from famine and malnutrition has risen to 122, including 83 children.
In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals across the Gaza Strip recorded nine additional deaths from starvation.
Earlier, a medical source at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the death of a child due to starvation and malnutrition. This followed reports from the same hospital of two other deaths, including a patient with diabetes.
In a separate statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza reported that famine is rapidly worsening, with at least 116 deaths linked to malnutrition amid an almost total collapse in access to food, water, and medicine.
The office warned against what it described as false reports of aid entering the Strip and called on the international community to immediately break the siege and allow the flow of urgent humanitarian assistance, especially baby formula, to the 2.5 million Palestinians living under blockade.
The Daily Express is a right wing British newspaper that spends most of its time bashing immigrants.
That it has devoted its front page to the starvation of Gaza is a sign of how dire the situation has become and how impossible it is to ignore. pic.twitter.com/6iG0RyCP1c
— Richard Hall (@_RichardHall) July 23, 2025
Starvation as a Method of Genocide
Amnesty International accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war and a tool to commit genocide in Gaza.
In a statement, the organization said the crisis is being intensified by Israel’s control over aid distribution, which it described as a deliberate effort to deprive Palestinians of food and basic necessities.
Amnesty demanded an immediate end to Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for full UN access to ensure safe and unrestricted delivery of relief to Gaza’s population.
WHO: Rising Deaths Feared
World Health Organization Regional Director Hanan Balkhy told Al-Jazeera that the agency fears a dramatic rise in famine-related deaths, citing the very limited humanitarian access to Gaza. She noted that not a single hospital in the Strip is fully operational, and that the safety of medical staff is increasingly at risk.
Balkhy said that 20% of pregnant women in Gaza are experiencing hunger and that the majority of children are in severe need.
She described the overall humanitarian situation as catastrophic, with nearly 2.1 million people facing famine. She urged for an immediate end to hostilities and the reopening of all border crossings.
‘I Can’t Eat While Children are Dying’ – Gaza Journalists Embark on Hunger Strike
Oxfam, MSF, and UNRWA Sound the Alarm
Oxfam reported a 150% rise in waterborne diseases, blaming the dire sanitation conditions and hunger. Dr. Bassam Zaqout, head of the Medical Relief Society in Gaza, said that hunger is leading to the spread of new diseases, especially among people with chronic illnesses like diabetes, and called for urgent international intervention.
UNRWA described the famine in Gaza as entirely man-made and demanded the immediate lifting of the blockade. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) echoed this, calling the starvation “deliberate” and urging large-scale aid deliveries.
MSF reported that the number of patients seeking treatment for malnutrition has quadrupled since mid-May, and the rate of acute malnutrition among children under five has tripled in just two weeks.
The World Food Programme said Gaza’s hunger crisis is “unprecedented,” while the International Protection Group warned that civilian lives are now at greater risk than at any point in the war.
Childhood Lost
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Gaza, over 39,000 children have lost one or both parents since the beginning of the Israeli assault. Of these, 17,000 are orphans, while at least 18,000 children have been killed.
Hospitals, particularly the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, are overwhelmed with children suffering from malnutrition. The facility lacks baby formula — the only suitable food for infants under six months old. Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, head of pediatrics at the hospital, said that formula milk is either unavailable or expired, with prices reaching $150 per carton when found.
‘When I Slept Hungry’: My Testimony on the Exhausting Hunger in Gaza
In desperation, families are turning to unsafe alternatives such as water mixed with anise or chamomile. Doctors, including international medical staff, report seeing rare and severe symptoms in children — such as hair loss, fluid retention, and physical wasting — typically unseen in modern medicine.
The International Rescue Committee also expressed deep concern over the rising number of children dying from starvation, placing full blame on Israel’s blockade.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel — with US backing — has waged a relentless war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in more than 203,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, over 14,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and the onset of a catastrophic famine.
