A coalition of 109 humanitarian and human rights organisations has issued a stark warning: mass starvation is now spreading across Gaza, while critical aid remains blocked just outside the enclave.
In their joint statement, the organisations , including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Refugees International, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the full removal of all restrictions on aid delivery.
They condemned the Israeli government’s siege for creating conditions of “chaos, starvation, and death”, citing that food, clean water, and medical supplies are unable to reach those in need due to severe access restrictions.
At least 10 Palestinians have died of forced starvation in the past 24 hours in Gaza, bringing the death toll from hunger to 111, including at least 80 children, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health.
More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while attempting to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli forces near Israel- and United States-backed GHF distribution points. The agency has come under sharp criticism, including from the United Nations, for its lack of neutrality and for allowing military involvement in aid distribution.
Israel, which maintains control over all entry points into Gaza, denies responsibility for the food shortages.
The UN has reported that hospitals have admitted people in a state of severe exhaustion caused by a lack of food, and that others are collapsing in the streets.
“As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families,” the 109 humanitarian organisations said in the statement published on Wednesday.
“With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.”
“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 UN says almost 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza
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.”
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 humanitarian organisations also said almost all of Gaza’s population has been displaced and is now confined to less than 12% of the territory not covered by Israeli evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, making aid operations untenable.
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