Gaza's Food Crisis Spirals As Aid Groups Say Starvation Is Spreading

Scores of aid groups say the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse than ever and that starvation is spreading, with Israel blaming the situation on Hamas.

The crisis is spiraling as Israel and Hamas mull a truce and comes two weeks after the European Union announced an agreement with Israel to increase the flow of food to Gaza.

A major dispute in the ceasefire negotiations, officials from both sides say, is over a Hamas demand for the restoration of a United Nations-administered relief network that Israel sidelined, arguing the Palestinian militant group was stealing food and medicine.

World anger toward Israel’s government is growing amid increasing reports of emaciated babies, children crammed into soup queues and men tussling over bags of flour. Foreign doctors volunteering in Gaza say they too are going hungry. International news agencies are withdrawing staff for fear of famine.

“There is no real change on the ground,” Médecins Sans Frontières said in a statement, referring to the July 10 accord between Israel and the EU. MSF and many other humanitarian groups accused Israel of failing to make good on the arrangement.

“Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses,” MSF said. “Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive.”

The World Health Organization added its voice to the alarm.

“The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday. “We are now witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths.”

These accusations are a “coordinated, scripted campaign,” according to Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon. 

Iran-backed Hamas, which is on terrorism blacklists in much of the West, called on Wednesday for global protests against Israel “until the siege is broken and the famine ends.” Thirty-three Palestinians have died of malnutrition over the last 48 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

More than 59,000 people have been killed since the war started in October 2023, according to the ministry. Hamas triggered the conflict with an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Israel has lost more than 400 troops in Gaza combat. 

Israel says it must continue the war until the remaining 50 captives — roughly 20 of who Israel believes are alive — are freed. It’s negotiating a 60-day truce with Hamas that would lead to the return of 10 living and and around 18 deceased hostages. During the ceasefire, the sides would continue talks to end the war permanently and release the last captives.

Like other Israeli officials, Danon said what problems do exist in Gaza are due to distribution shortfalls within Palestinian-controlled areas.

“It’s really easy for the UN to blame Israel for everything,” Danon told Israel’s Kan radio. “They don’t talk about the drivers who flee and aren’t willing to go to all kind of places. They don’t talk about the pillaging by Hamas.” 

Israel blocked aid supplies for Gaza in early March, shortly before a ceasefire that started in January broke down. It said that was necessary to put more pressure on Hamas to surrender.

In May, Israel allowed aid to enter Gaza again via a new US-backed entity called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Designed to stop Hamas from getting aid, GHF has been dogged by controversy and chaos, with hundreds of Palestinians being shot near distribution sites. The UN and other groups say GHF has politicized the supply of aid and is giving out nowhere near enough to meet the needs of Gazans.

GHF and Israel dispute reports that Palestinians killed or hurt near aid sites have been hit by their fire, instead blaming Hamas.

On Monday, 26 countries including the UK, Italy, Japan and Switzerland put out a joint statement calling on Israel to end the war immediately.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” they said. “The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.”