With Raheel’s passing, the number of Palestinians who have died from famine in Gaza has risen to 20 in just the past 48 hours.
Raheel Mohammed Rasras, a 32-year-old Palestinian woman with special needs, passed away on Monday evening at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, after a prolonged and painful battle with severe malnutrition.
Her death comes amid a devastating famine fueled by Israel’s ongoing blockade and the denial of humanitarian aid.
According to Anadolu News Agency, medical sources reported that Raheel’s weight had dropped from nearly 50 kilograms to just 25 kilograms in recent months. The siege and starvation inflicted on Gaza’s population caused a steady decline in her health, leaving her weakened and unable to survive the hunger and deprivation.
With Raheel’s passing, the number of Palestinians who have died from famine in Gaza has risen to 20 in just the past 48 hours, according to Palestinian medical sources.
Medical sources in Gaza hospitals reported four deaths since dawn on Tuesday, including two children, due to malnutrition and dehydration. pic.twitter.com/iPSJHhuDWq
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) July 22, 2025
On Sunday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced that at least 86 Palestinians, including 76 children, have died as a direct result of Israel’s starvation policy since the start of the total blockade on October 7, 2023.
Heart-wrenching footage circulating on social media shows Raheel’s skeletal frame, with her facial bones and limbs visibly protruding, a stark reflection of the suffering endured by Palestinians in Gaza.
Famine continues to claim lives in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Raheel was being treated at Nasser Hospital before her death (Anadolu Agency).
Gaza is enduring one of the worst humanitarian disasters in its history. The deadly famine is unfolding alongside a genocidal war waged by Israel—backed by the United States—since October 7, 2023. This assault involves relentless bombardment, enforced starvation, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and mass displacement.
The Ministry of Health has confirmed that Israel has deliberately targeted hospitals and aid centers, leaving only 16 out of Gaza’s 38 hospitals partially operational—five of which are public hospitals and 11 privately run.
The healthcare system is collapsing under a severe shortage of medicines, medical equipment, and essential supplies, compounded by shrinking aid deliveries and the absence of a meaningful international intervention.
Since March, Israel has effectively shut down all crossings into Gaza, worsening the already catastrophic food and humanitarian crisis. In recent days, harrowing scenes have emerged of Palestinians collapsing in the streets from hunger, while both local and international agencies struggle to respond.
Despite repeated calls from the international community and rulings from the International Court of Justice demanding a halt to the war, Israel—bolstered by open American support—continues its assault on Gaza.
The war has resulted in nearly 200,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, the majority being women and children, with over 11,000 missing, hundreds of thousands forcibly displaced, and famine spreading unchecked among the civilian population.
(PC, AJA)
