Gazans 'wasting away' as mass starvation spreads, humanitarian groups warn

Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the armed group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.

Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.

"Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and older people. Illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration," the humanitarian organisations warned.

"An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: 'Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.'"

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said its assessments show that a quarter of the population is facing famine-like conditions, and that almost 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and need treatment as soon as possible.

Its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday: "As you know, mass starvation means starvation of a large proportion of a population, and a large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving.

"I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it's man-made.

"And that's very clear, this is because of the blockade."

Dr Ahmad al-Farra, the head of paediatrics at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, told the BBC that no food had been available for three days.

He said children come to his unit going through varying degrees of starvation.

Some were malnourished and died in the hospital's care, he added. Others came with separate health issues that prevented nutrients from being absorbed by their bodies.

"We were afraid we would reach this critical point - and now we have," he said.

The shortages of basic supplies has caused prices at local markets to skyrocket and left most families unable to afford to buy anything.

"It's outrageous - prices are on fire," one Gaza resident said. "Every day we need 300 shekels ($90; £66.50) just for flour."

The humanitarian organisations also noted that the UN says it has recorded the killing by the Israeli military of more than 1,050 Palestinians trying to get food since 27 May - the day after the controversial aid distribution mechanism run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating as an alternative to the UN-led mechanism.

According to the UN human rights office, 766 people have been killed in the vicinity of the GHF's four aid sites, which are located inside Israeli military zones and operated by US private security contractors. Another 288 people have been killed near UN and other aid convoys.

The Israeli military says its troops deployed near the GHF sites have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians. The GHF says the UN is using "false and misleading" figures from Gaza's health ministry.

The UN has repeatedly said it struggles to get the necessary Israeli authorisation to collect incoming supplies with Gazan drivers from inside the crossing points and transport it through military zones.

The ongoing hostilities, badly damaged roads, and severe fuel shortages have exacerbated problems. Criminal looting by armed gangs has also sometimes stopped operations.

The UN has said a major problem in recent weeks has been that it is struggling to get commitments from the Israeli military that desperate Palestinians will not be killed while trying to collect aid from its convoys.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a briefing on Tuesday: "In too many cases where UN teams are permitted by Israel to collect supplies from closed compounds near Gaza's crossings, civilians approaching these trucks come under fire despite repeated assurances that troops would not engage or be present."

"This unacceptable pattern is the opposite of what facilitating humanitarian operations should look like. Absolutely no one should have to risk their lives to get food."

The humanitarian organisations said it is time for governments to "take decisive action".

"Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organisations."

"States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition," they added.

Israel's foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the statement, accusing the organisations of "using Hamas's talking points".

"These organisations are serving the propaganda of Hamas, using their numbers and justifying their horrors," it added.

"Instead of challenging the terror organisation, they embrace it as their own."

The ministry also claimed that they were "harming the chances" of a new ceasefire and hostage release deal, which Israel and Hamas are negotiating at indirect talks in Qatar.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 59,219 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.