The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, as Israel’s ongoing blockade continues to deprive the civilian population of essential food, medicine and basic services. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has accused the Israeli authorities of systematically starving more than one million children in Gaza, describing the crisis as catastrophic.
In a statement on Sunday, UNRWA warned that Israel is pursuing a deliberate policy of starvation targeting civilians, including children, while preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those most in need, despite repeated international appeals for unrestricted access.
The agency called urgently for the opening of all crossings to allow the entry of food, medicine and essential supplies, stressing that the continuation of the siege places hundreds of thousands of children at immediate risk and constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law, which strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon against civilian populations.
UNRWA’s warning follows growing evidence from rights organisations and medical professionals documenting the escalating levels of acute malnutrition among Gaza’s children. Between March and June alone, UNRWA health centres conducted approximately 74,000 medical examinations on children, revealing around 5,500 cases of severe acute malnutrition and more than 800 cases of extreme malnutrition requiring urgent intervention. These figures illustrate the scale of the crisis and signal the catastrophic consequences that will follow if the siege is maintained.
The deliberate starvation of over a million children reflects a systematic policy of collective punishment that has become a defining feature of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. This policy includes indiscriminate bombardments, attacks on hospitals, the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the denial of access to food and healthcare, all contributing to the collapse of life-sustaining systems in the Strip.
What is unfolding in Gaza has crossed every conceivable red line. Entire communities are now trapped under siege conditions that amount to an intentional effort to eradicate the civilian population. The physical toll on children is stark: widespread images show emaciated bodies reduced to skeletal forms, scenes reminiscent of the most horrific crimes of the twentieth century.
Despite this unfolding catastrophe, much of the international community remains a passive observer, leaving Gaza’s population to face hunger, bombardment and death in isolation.
