UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Wednesday that the famine in Gaza “is not the result of a combination of factors, but rather man-made.”
Six Palestinians have died of malnutrition and famine in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, raising the death toll to 367, including 131 children, the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday.
These deaths were added to the 13 deaths reported on Tuesday, including three children, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, making this the highest number recorded in a single day since the beginning of Israel’s humanitarian blockade on the enclave.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports six deaths from famine and malnutrition, including one child, in the past 24 hours.
This brings up the total death toll from malnutrition in the region to 367, including 131 children, a direct result of the full-fledged Israeli blockade. pic.twitter.com/bVc5y1uEJN
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 3, 2025
Despite the rising number of deaths, Palestinian and international organizations say there has been no significant change in addressing the aid situation in the besieged Strip since the United Nations declared a famine over a week ago. They say Palestinians are still starving due to a lack of supplies.
The starvation is intensifying as the Israeli army begins implementing the first stages of its plan to invade and occupy Gaza City, destroying entire residential blocks in the neighborhoods of Shuja’iyya, Zeitoun, and Sabra, as well as in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, with thousands of residents displaced, Al Jazeera reported.
Jana, 9, was evacuated from north Gaza last year, with UNICEF’s support.
Now she’s battling severe malnutrition again.
UNICEF’s Tess Ingram speaks with Jana’s mother, Nesma, who already lost a daughter, Jouri, to malnutrition.
These horrors must stop. Jana and all children in… pic.twitter.com/lemK3ruKuQ
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 31, 2025
Warning
Numerous states and human rights and humanitarian organizations have condemned the Israeli military operations, warning of a new bloody escalation and widespread displacement of Gaza City’s population of nearly one million, the report added.
Adnan Abu Hasna, media advisor for UNRWA, revealed shocking figures about Gaza’s health and humanitarian crisis. Official death counts do not reflect reality, as many patients and starving individuals die in silence and are buried around tents and shelters.
Diseases previously… pic.twitter.com/jl0XOmOFX5
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 3, 2025
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, warned of the consequences of Israel’s military plans in the western Gaza Strip, where more than one million Palestinians are crowded together in tragic conditions.
Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera that if Israel carries out its threats, western Gaza will be plunged into an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
‘Man-Made Famine’
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Wednesday that the famine in Gaza “is not the result of a combination of factors, but rather man-made.”
“While the world looks on, the State of Israel continues to block life-saving aid from reaching Gaza,” he stated on X.
“In #Gaza, the famine is not the result of a combination of factors, but rather man-made”, @UNLazzarini tells @el_pais
While the world looks on, the State of Israel continues to block life-saving aid from reaching Gaza.
UNRWA stands ready to deliver assistance — the siege… pic.twitter.com/CxSI57W99y
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 3, 2025
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has said the famine “is the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government.”
“It has unlawfully restricted the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance and other goods necessary for the survival of the civilian population in the Gaza strip,” he stated.
Voker stressed, “It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, and the resulting deaths may also amount to the war crime of willful killing.”
He called on Israeli authorities to take immediate steps to end the famine “and prevent further loss of life across the Gaza Strip.”
Over 63,700 Killed
Since reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has continued its bloody aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians.
Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 63,700 Palestinians, with more than 161,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
A Palestinian grandmother mourns her granddaughters, Sara and Tala, killed in an Israeli strike that hit their apartment west of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/xghx3cqHvk
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) September 3, 2025
In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.
Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
(PC, AJA)
STOP starving the people and children of Gaza! It’s wrong!!!