Child hunger is reportedly now rapidly spreading across the Gaza Strip, with aid agencies warning that the enclave is now gripped by one of the worst food crises in its modern history.
What was once a patchwork of localized shortages has escalated into a widespread emergency affecting nearly every household, regardless of class or location.
Recent data from UNICEF paints a grim picture: more than 5,800 children have been diagnosed with malnutrition as of June, nearly triple the number reported in February.
Ten children have died of starvation in just the past month, according to the United Nations — surpassing the total for the first half of the year.
As the humanitarian crisis unfolds, the root causes remain bitterly disputed. The Israeli government insists its actions are not to blame. “In Gaza today, there is no famine caused by Israel,” government spokesman David Mencer said this week. “There is, however, a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas.”
Israel’s defenders point to a long track record of Hamas siphoning off aid, hiding weapons in civilian areas, and undermining relief efforts.
Yet critics argue that the Israeli government’s “drip feeding” of humanitarian assistance — combined with heavy restrictions on border crossings — is exacerbating the suffering of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents.
After cutting off most aid in March, Israel began allowing limited shipments to resume in May. But humanitarian groups say the supplies fall far short of what’s needed.
The newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, meant to coordinate U.S.-backed aid deliveries outside of the U.N. system, has struggled with logistical failures, overcrowded distribution points, and deadly chaos.
Desperate crowds have surrounded convoys, and Palestinian health officials claim hundreds have been killed in incidents where Israeli troops opened fire near aid delivery zones.
Israel maintains that its forces were protecting personnel and responding to security threats.
The deteriorating situation has prompted a flurry of international diplomatic activity. Governments in Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are now in talks with Israel and the United States to resume food airdrops — a measure humanitarian experts consider a last resort.
The missions are costly, inefficient, and in some cases deadly; earlier airdrops in 2024 resulted in civilian casualties when pallets fell into populated areas.
“This is generalized hunger,” said Rosalia Bollen, a spokeswoman for UNICEF. “In the past there were situations where specific areas were affected. That’s no longer the case today.”
Observers say the hunger crisis is no longer tied to specific regions or demographics. In earlier stages of the war, better-off families or those living near functioning aid routes fared somewhat better.
Today, even doctors and aid workers — those tasked with responding to malnutrition — say they are underfed and struggling to function.
The Israeli government’s attempt to sidestep the U.N. and reframe the aid structure has so far yielded little improvement.
And while Hamas’s role in fueling and exploiting the chaos is well-documented, the broader international community is now pressing Israel to ease restrictions and facilitate more effective humanitarian access.
As the Gaza war grinds into its tenth month, the collapse of the aid system — and the growing sense that hunger itself has become a tool of conflict — underscores the high cost of a war strategy that continues to punish Gaza’s civilian population as much as its militant rulers.
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