Famine was officially declared in Gaza by the world’s top famine-monitoring body two months ago. Since then, Israel has responded to overwhelming international pressure and global isolation by increasing the flow of aid into Gaza to a trickle. The result has been a policy of “managing the famine,” where a limited number of aid trucks are allowed in and then barred from entering for extended periods. As a result, the number of people dying from starvation in Gaza has continued to climb.
While the Gaza Strip requires 600 trucks of aid daily, the actual number entering through all the crossings ranges between 10 to 80 per day. On some days, 20 trucks enter; on others, 10 or 80, with the number fluctuating constantly.
All told, the amount of aid that enters Gaza on a daily basis rarely surpasses meeting 14% of the population’s needs, a level that the Israeli army has maintained since it first began allowing aid into the Strip.
In every hospital, families bid farewell to their loved ones — sometimes as dismembered remains, other times as emaciated bodies. At the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the mother of eight-year-old Amir Shaheen, who died of severe malnutrition, said that her son weighed 28 kilograms before the famine — a normal weight for a child of his age. Before he died, his weight had dropped to just fourteen kilograms, all in a matter of months.
“My son began to suffer from malnutrition, and his health deteriorated gradually,” his mother said. “We started taking him to hospitals when we noticed the changes. When we reached the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, he was already suffering from severe malnutrition, and the hospital could not do anything for him.”
Amir’s health continued to worsen day by day, his mother recounted. At some point, he could no longer stand on his own, and he was always absent-minded and lethargic. “He used to eat normally, but once food became unavailable and famine began to ravage our bodies, we could no longer provide for the children,” she said. “Nor could we find anything for ourselves. The situation changed, and he suffered first. I hope that other children will receive attention and be reached before they meet the same fate as my son, who died of hunger.”
She is not the only one.
At al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the mother of Fahima Darawsa — who also died of malnutrition in the same facility — stood with red eyes from tears, her face darkened. In a video obtained by Mondoweiss, she spoke while crying.
“We have never experienced conditions like this, and we cannot find anything to feed our children, our loved ones, and our families,” she said. “The situation is tragic, and we do not know where to get a meal to prevent disaster for our children.”
“Our children are wasting away before our eyes,” she said. “And what is coming will be much worse, because the situation is deteriorating. We see no solutions — only a merciless blockade, deprivation, and death.”
Health officials warn famine is reaching breaking point
Since the beginning of September alone, over 92 people have starved to death in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. This indicates a rapid increase in starvation-related deaths — in July, the toll stood at 122 people, and now it has reached 447, including 147 children.
The Health Ministry confirms that in September, deaths from malnutrition “notably increased” due to Israel’s closure of the crossings, which prevented food aid, including baby formula, from reaching those in need. On July 28, the Gaza Government Media Office stated that Israel had blocked the entry of baby formula for 150 days. According to the Office, there are 40,000 babies in Gaza, and the Strip requires 250,000 bottles of it daily.
“During July and August, hospitals and medical centers in the Gaza Strip reported 28,000 cases of serious malnutrition among children under 5, which worsens the situation,” said Dr. Khalil Dagran, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. He said that the Health Ministry expressed fear over the conditions of those children if Israel continues to enforce its policy of “engineered starvation.”
“As the starvation policy pursued by the Israeli occupation continued, recent months saw the crisis reach its peak,” Dr. Dagran continued. “We’re now in the most difficult stage to date.” According to him, hospital patients have been left emaciated due to malnutrition, as essential supplies such as IV solutions and baby formula remain unavailable. This is the main reason dozens of children have died, he explained.
“Adults and the elderly are also dying from protein depletion and immunodeficiency,” he added.
Dr. Dagran warned that if the blockade of Gaza continues, “we will witness catastrophic levels of starvation and malnutrition.”
On September 22, the Government Media Office said that the Israeli army continues to enforce its starvation policy by periodically closing aid crossings for several days on end without providing any reason. More recently, the Zikim crossing in the north was closed for a period of ten days. “This is part of a systematic policy of engineering starvation,” the Government Media Office said, adding that Israeli authorities have also deliberately reduced aid through the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings.
Since July, health organizations and government offices in the Gaza Strip have been issuing urgent appeals to prevent a “catastrophe” for children in need of infant formula.
On July 26, the Government Media Office issued a statement saying that over 100,000 children under the age of two — including 40,000 infants under one year old — were facing imminent “mass death” due to the complete absence of infant formula and nutritional supplements, combined with the continued closure of the crossings and the prevention of even the most basic essential supplies.
“We are facing an imminent, deliberate mass killing being carried out slowly against infants,” the statement said. “Mothers have been forced to feed them water instead of infant formula for days, as a result of the starvation and extermination policy pursued by the Israeli occupation.”
Tareq S. Hajjaj
Tareq S. Hajjaj is the Gaza Correspondent for Mondoweiss and a member of the Palestinian Writers Union. Follow him on Twitter/X at @Tareqshajjaj.
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