Gaza hunger crisis demands more than words

THIRTY-THREE more lives have been lost to hunger in Gaza in just two days, taking the toll to 101 by Tuesday. Among the dead is a six-week-old infant — a tragic symbol of a war that now kills not just through bombs but also by the withholding of bread. Gaza is dying from deliberate deprivation. The reports are gut-wrenching. UN staff are fainting from hunger and exhaustion. Aid workers are detained. More than 100 humanitarian organisations have sounded alarms over “mass starvation.” The World Food Programme confirms that many families go days without eating. The WHO warns that famine is no longer a risk; it is already here, and worsening by the hour. Yet, the blockade continues, choking the already devastated enclave of nearly two million Palestinians.

This is not just a humanitarian catastrophe. It is a moral collapse. Starvation as a weapon is a war crime under international law. Despite mounting evidence of systematic obstruction of aid, accountability remains absent. The suffering is visible: children with skeletal frames and bloated bellies. UN distribution points have become “sadistic death traps” under sniper fire. Reports say over 1,000 civilians have died while queuing for food since May. Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and UN fact-finding missions now assert that Israel’s actions may amount to genocide. Still, the siege continues.

Israel must open all crossings immediately and allow unfettered access to aid. All humanitarian operations must be channelled through credible, neutral agencies — not militarised distribution hubs. Donor nations must go beyond words and enforce consequences: sanctions, diplomatic pressure and international accountability. To allow Gaza to starve is to abandon the very idea of shared humanity. The silence or hesitation of powerful nations is complicity by default. Each withheld food convoy is a choice. The world must act, not just condemn.

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