Geneva: Gaza mass starvation has become a severe humanitarian crisis, according to the World Health Organization, as the enclave’s people face growing hunger under a blockade that has limited aid deliveries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that, the situation is clearly man-made, with food and medical supplies left unused just outside Gaza’s borders.
The Director spoke after more than 100 aid groups appealed for urgent action to prevent further deaths linked to Gaza mass starvation. The war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023, has left Gaza’s population of 2.2 million struggling for basic needs.
Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and lifted the full blockade in May, but international agencies say strict controls have continued to block most aid needed to ease Gaza mass starvation.
Israel estimated that it must restrict supplies to stop militants from diverting aid but claims it is still letting enough food in to cover the population’s needs. However, Gaza’s health ministry has reported that 10 more people died overnight from starvation, pushing the total number of deaths by hunger to 111, most in recent weeks.
The WHO has confirmed that malnutrition has killed at least 21 children so far in 2025, though the agency says the real number is likely higher. Many centres treating malnutrition are overwhelmed and lack supplies for emergency feeding programmes. The WHO has said that the crisis has been made worse by damage to aid pipelines and limits on humanitarian access.
Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for the occupied Palestinian territories, noted that, in July alone, 5,100 children have entered malnutrition treatment, with 800 of them severely underweight due to Gaza mass starvation.
Tedros added that, the United Nations and its partners have not been able to deliver any food for nearly 80 days between March and May, and the current supply is still far below what is needed to ease Gaza mass starvation.
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