The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has reached unprecedented depths, with over 500,000 Palestinians—nearly a quarter of the population—teetering on the brink of famine amid relentless Israeli military operations and a suffocating blockade.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that one in three Gazans is going days without food, while acute malnutrition among children under five has quadrupled in Gaza City over just two months. “The situation is the worst I’ve ever seen,” said WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau. “People are dying just trying to get food.”

Since March 2, 2025, Israel’s near-total blockade has crippled aid deliveries, reversing fragile gains made during a brief ceasefire earlier this year. The WFP, one of the few organizations still operating in Gaza, has delivered 48.5 million pounds of food since border crossings partially reopened on May 21, but this is a fraction of the 135 million pounds needed monthly to feed Gaza’s 2.1 million people, all of whom face extreme hunger due to the ongoing conflict.

Israeli airstrikes and restrictions have obliterated Gaza’s infrastructure, leaving entire neighborhoods in ruins and displacing families up to ten times. Over 320,000 children under five are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, a deadly condition that could leave lasting developmental damage even for those who survive. “This is a man-made crisis,” said a WFP official, pointing to Israel’s deliberate obstruction of aid as the primary driver of starvation.

WFP convoys face deadly risks, with trucks navigating bottlenecks at just two cleared border crossings, enduring delays of up to 46 hours, and facing sniper fire, drone surveillance, and crowd surges from desperate civilians. On July 20, a WFP convoy came under fire near the Zikim crossing, with civilians killed and an armored vehicle hit by a bullet. Despite Israel’s recent pledge for “humanitarian pauses” and new corridors, aid workers say these measures are woefully inadequate, with only 350 truckloads delivered last week—half of what WFP requested.

The United Nations and over 100 humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, have condemned Israel’s blockade as a violation of international humanitarian law, accusing it of weaponizing starvation. Israeli claims that Hamas diverts aid have been debunked by a U.S. assessment finding no evidence of systematic theft. Meanwhile, the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been criticized as a “death trap,” with over 1,000 Palestinians killed near its distribution sites since May.

As Gaza’s health system collapses—80% of facilities are damaged or destroyed—hospitals are overwhelmed, with children sleeping on floors due to malnutrition ward overcrowding. The Gaza Health Ministry reports 147 deaths from malnutrition since the war began, including 88 children, though the true toll is likely higher.

WFP is calling for an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted aid access, and at least 100 trucks daily through multiple border points to avert further catastrophe. “The world cannot turn a blind eye to this moral crisis,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, urging global action to flood Gaza with food, water, and medicine. For now, WFP’s heroic efforts continue, but without sustained international pressure on Israel to lift the blockade, Gaza’s people face a grim future of starvation and despair. (ILKHA)