Starvation Claims More Lives in Gaza as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

At least nine more Palestinians, including children, have died from starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, as the humanitarian disaster in Gaza spirals further out of control.

Local health officials now report that 122 people have died from hunger-related causes since the blockade intensified, with medical workers describing the situation as catastrophic and worsening by the day.

Hospitals across Gaza are overwhelmed with malnourished children - frail, underweight, and in desperate need of urgent care. Many of them are beyond treatment, as supplies of life-saving therapeutic food and medical essentials run dangerously low.

According to UNICEF, Gaza's limited stock of therapeutic food - crucial for treating children suffering from severe acute malnutrition - is expected to run out by mid-August unless urgent aid is allowed in.

"We are watching children die slowly," said one exhausted pediatric nurse in northern Gaza. "Their mothers can only hold them and pray. We have nothing left to give."

'Deliberate Starvation': UN Agency Sounds Alarm

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), issued a strong warning on Friday, accusing the international community of standing by as a preventable famine unfolds.

"This is not a natural famine. It's a deliberate one," Lazzarini said in a statement. "Children are dying not because food doesn't exist - but because it is being blocked from reaching them."

Lazzarini called for an immediate end to what he described as a "cruel" new aid mechanism known as the Gaza Humanitarian Forum (GHF), which excludes UN agencies and limits who can deliver assistance. He said the current system, backed by Israel and the United States, is more political than humanitarian - and is costing lives.

Global Leaders Condemn the Crisis

International criticism is mounting. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the worsening conditions in Gaza during a public address on Friday.

"Mexico stands firmly for peace and justice. We reject what is happening in Gaza and call for immediate humanitarian access," she said.

The governments of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany also released a joint statement demanding Israel lift restrictions and allow aid to flow freely into Gaza.

"The humanitarian crisis must be brought to an end," the statement read. "There is no moral or legal justification for blocking food and medicine from reaching civilians."

Protests Outside Egyptian Embassies

The closure of the Rafah crossing - the main entry point for aid from Egypt into southern Gaza - has sparked protests across Europe. In Helsinki, demonstrators staged a protest outside the Egyptian embassy, spilling red paint over photos of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, symbolising the blood of Gaza's starving children.

In Oslo, activists chained shut the gates of the Egyptian embassy, accusing Egypt of playing a role in the enforced starvation of Palestinians. Similar protests are planned in other capitals in the coming days.

Violence Rises in the West Bank

Meanwhile, across the occupied West Bank, attacks by Israeli settlers continue to escalate. Armed settlers, often accompanied by Israeli forces, were recorded storming homes in Masafer Yatta, harassing residents and vandalising property.

In the village of Kisan, settlers reportedly destroyed solar panels, water systems, and forced families from their homes. Clashes and military raids were also reported in Nablus and Beit Furik, where soldiers seized private vehicles and arrested several civilians.

A Crisis Manufactured by Policy

What's happening in Gaza is no longer just a humanitarian emergency - it is a politically driven catastrophe, experts warn. With the healthcare system collapsed, food trucks barred, and the international community paralysed by politics, Gaza's children are paying the ultimate price.

"This can still be stopped," Lazzarini urged. "But only if the world chooses to act. If Gaza is abandoned now, who will be next?"

Unless restrictions are lifted and meaningful aid begins to reach those most in need, aid groups warn that Gaza could witness a full-scale famine in the coming weeks - one caused not by drought or disaster, but by siege.