Engineered Hunger: Israel’s Man-Made Famine in Gaza

Starvation deaths in Gaza are rising daily as Israel’s 22-month blockade and ongoing bombardment cut off food, water, and medical supplies. Infants and children are the most vulnerable

Seven-month-old Hasan Ahmed Felfel, whose condition is worsening by the day due to severe malnutrition, putting his life at serious risk, receives treatment under limited conditions at Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi Hospital in the Nasser neighbourhood of Gaza City, Gaza, on August 3, 2025 [Mohammad Yasir/Anadolu]

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 266 people — including 122 children — have already died from hunger. Human rights groups including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and the Norwegian Refugee Council have condemned Israel’s obstruction of aid, accusing it of weaponising starvation against civilians. Amnesty has described the policy as part of a deliberate campaign to destroy the health and survival of Palestinians in Gaza.

Aid supplies remain stranded in Jordan and Egypt while Gaza’s population of 2.3 million faces worsening famine. Before October 7, 2023, about 500 trucks of aid entered Gaza daily; since then, the numbers have dropped drastically, never approaching the level needed to sustain life. Malnutrition is particularly devastating for children, causing long-term damage to growth and development and, in severe cases, death. Health workers report more and more children in the “red zone” of acute malnutrition, requiring emergency intervention that is largely unavailable due to Israel’s destruction of hospitals and its restriction of aid.

Overview on how Israel Has Weaponised Starvation in Gaza

• Blockade of food and water

  • Sealing Gaza’s crossings, preventing food, clean water, and humanitarian aid from entering.

  • Severely limiting the number of aid trucks compared to pre-war levels (2023, from ~500 daily to a fraction of that).

• Targeting humanitarian infrastructure

  • Bombing bakeries, farms, water wells, fishing boats, and food warehouses.

  • Destroying agricultural land and livestock, crippling Gaza’s ability to produce food locally.

• Obstructing aid delivery

  • Blocking or delaying convoys at the borders.

  • Stranding tons of aid in Egypt and Jordan while civilians starve.

  • Restricting the types of goods allowed in, including items essential for food storage and preparation.

• Collapse of healthcare under blockade

  • Preventing the import of medicines, medical supplies, and fuel needed for hospitals.

  • Starved children and infants left untreated for malnutrition and infections.

• Use of starvation as a method of warfare

  • Rights groups (Amnesty, Oxfam, MSF) say the famine is not an accident but the intended outcome of Israeli policies.

  • Denying civilians access to basic necessities meets the legal definition of starvation as a weapon under international law.

For more information please refer to: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/18/israel-starving-gaza-hundreds-of-deaths-including-many-children