Alwaght- Gaza famine and hunger have hit a stage beyond crisis. Expressing regret at the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip due to the deliberate starvation policies imposed by the Israeli occupation, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese said that hunger of Gazans is a source of "shame" for all.
It has been over 60 days since Israel decided to close all border crossings of Gaza and fully halt food and relief aids. That Tel Aviv is weaponizing the aids against the Palestinians there.
In early March 2025, the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel, which had been in effect since January 19, 2025, expired. However, Israel reneged on this agreement and resumed its genocidal war against the Palestinian civilians. This Israeli action prevented the implementation of the next phases of the ceasefire and exacerbated the crisis.
According to World Bank data, 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are completely dependent on food aid after 19 months of war and Israeli genocide, because in war-torn Gaza, refugees have no work or income, and the residents of this coastal strip are all displaced. Many Gaza residents have been living in crowded, semi-destroyed shelters or in the open air without shelter for days on end, and this situation has led to the spread of epidemics.
Inconclusive US plans
The US State Department announced two weeks ago that it would soon launch a new mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, but despite the passage of more than two weeks since the announcement of this promise, there is still no news of the implementation of the mechanism, with the US making no explanation. This is while Tommy Bruce, a spokesman for the US State Department, had previously said "we are only a few steps away from being able to provide aid and food to the residents of Gaza."
On the other hand, Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, had claimed in a press conference in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) that private security companies would guarantee the security of the aid distribution and distribute food in the Gaza Strip, but Israel would not participate in the distribution of aid. This claim was also not implemented in practice as still there is no news of the distribution operation.
Sham plans
Meanwhile, some European countries including Switzerland reported start of activity of a non-profit organization, named Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, registered in Switzerland, adding that its central office is based in Geneva. The Swiss newspaper Le Temps also confirmed that the foundation is looking to hire people to distribute aid, but in practice, the so-called foundation has not yet carried out any work in Gaza. The Swiss group was supposed to distribute packaged food rations, drinking water, hygiene kits, blankets and other necessities in Gaza.
Gaza hell
Gaza situation is currently extremely critical. Several international doctors and aid workers told ABC News that water, food, medicine and medical supplies are running low, and in some cases completely out. Children are malnourished, diseases risk spreading, and the injured are not being treated, they said.
"If nothing is done, if food is not coming in, if water is not coming in, if vaccines are not coming in in sufficient quantities, we are already in a catastrophe and more children will die," UNICEF's communications chief Jonathan Creek told ABC News. Denying Gaza food is one of the most serious problems facing the strip, aid workers say.
Osama al-As, an aid worker in Gaza, said the situation was "getting worse by the day, especially in terms of food" because almost everyone in Gaza relies on humanitarian aid and community kitchens for food, with most families surviving on one meal a day, and most of the food available is canned food and bread.
Doctor Ahmed al-Far, head of the pediatrics department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said he had seen many cases of malnourished children in the past two months. One example he gave was a baby girl named Siwar, who was born four months ago. At birth, she weighed 2.5 kilograms. Four months later, she should have weighed about 5 kilograms, but according to him, she weighs only about 2.7 kilograms. Al-far said her mother is unable to breastfeed and the family does not have much money, so they have not been able to breastfeed Siwar and have only given her fresh water.
Aid workers say the blockade has also contributed to spread of disease in Gaza. They say overcrowding in tents — coupled with a lack of fresh water, hygiene products and poor sanitation — puts Gazans at risk of infectious diseases.
“Limited sources of soap and hygiene products will continue to exacerbate skin manifestations of diseases such as scabies,” Dr. Aqsa Durani, a pediatrician who recently worked for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, told ABC News. It is unclear how many infections have been diagnosed in the past two months, but a study from April 2024 estimated 55,400 cases of scabies and lice outbreaks among displaced children under five.
Shortage of fresh water amid camp congestion have led to diarrhea outbreak. A report published by Institute for Palestinian studies estimates that at least half of the cases recorded until January 2024 are for bellow 5 children. Creek said that a majority of the children are hit by chronic diarrhea, something risking serious complications for babies and children.
