Amid deafening international silence, Israel continues its systematic strangulation policy against the Gaza Strip. The scenes of destruction are no longer the sole face of the tragedy; hunger has now become a blatant manifestation of a slow-motion genocide, carried out coldly against more than two million besieged civilians under constant bombardment and deprivation.
In this context, Carl Skau, Director of Operations at the World Food Programme (WFP), warned that “the needs in Gaza are greater than ever, while humanitarian access is more restricted,” describing the situation following his recent visit as “worse than before.”
In a series of posts on the platform X, Skau stated that hunger is spreading rapidly in Gaza, and civilians are dying “just for seeking food”, a direct indicator of the deepening catastrophe.
WFP teams are operating under conditions resembling death zones, where aid workers find themselves caught in crossfire while accompanying relief convoys. Despite the risks, they continue trying to deliver food, while essential supplies like fuel, spare parts, and communication equipment are running out. Local staff are facing the same hunger and danger as the rest of the population.
What is happening in Gaza cannot be reduced to a humanitarian crisis or temporary siege. It is a deliberate, systematic starvation policy—where food is used as a weapon of war to subjugate the population through the blockade of aid, attacks on distribution centers, and the cutting off of life-sustaining infrastructure. This constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
Despite the availability of food stocks held by UN agencies, Israeli-imposed restrictions are obstructing their entry. Skau noted that during the last ceasefire, the WFP was able to deliver 8,000 trucks over 42 days, asserting that the UN can replicate this effort if roads and crossings are opened, and minimal safety is provided.
Hunger in Gaza is no longer a byproduct of war; it is an ongoing, deliberate policy aimed at breaking Palestinian society into collapse. This genocide is being waged by erasing every aspect of life, from water and electricity to hospitals, schools, and now even a loaf of bread.
A ceasefire alone is not enough unless it is accompanied by the complete dismantling of the legal and political infrastructure that enables this blockade to persist and places millions at risk of slow death.
In Gaza today, people are fighting for survival, not just under airstrikes, but in front of closed bakeries, empty markets, and shuttered aid warehouses. Meanwhile, the occupation continues to punish an entire population by denying them the most basic of rights, in one of the most openly executed collective crimes of our modern era.
