Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 11, 2024. REUTERS
WHO: Gaza enduring man-made 'mass starvation’
Gaza is confronting a crisis of mass starvation brought on by human actions, stemming from a blockade restricting aid access to the Palestinian territory, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.
His remarks followed an urgent warning from over 100 humanitarian organizations about escalating hunger in Gaza, even as large quantities of food, clean water, and medical supplies remain stranded just outside its borders.
“I don’t know what else to call it but mass starvation—and it is man-made. That is unmistakable,” Tedros said during a live-streamed press conference from Geneva. “This is the result of the blockade.”
Food stocks in Gaza have been depleted since the outbreak of conflict in October 2023, when Israel—at war with Hamas—halted all deliveries into the enclave. Although the blockade was eased in May, ongoing restrictions persist, which Israeli officials say are necessary to stop aid from being diverted to militants. International agencies, however, report that only a fraction of the essential supplies is reaching Gaza’s population.
Israel maintains that it permits aid into Gaza but insists on oversight to prevent its misappropriation. Israeli authorities argue that sufficient food has entered the territory during the conflict and place responsibility for the humanitarian crisis on Hamas, which governs Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, another ten Palestinians died overnight due to starvation, raising the total famine death toll to 111—most of whom perished in recent weeks amid the deepening hunger emergency.
The WHO also reported a sharp increase in malnutrition-related deaths, confirming at least 21 children have died from starvation in 2025. The organization warned that official numbers likely underestimate the true scale of the crisis.
Malnutrition treatment centers are overwhelmed and lacking enough supplies for emergency care, the WHO said. The hunger crisis is worsening due to the severe disruption of aid delivery routes and sustained access restrictions.
Tedros added that for nearly 80 days, from March to May, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners were unable to deliver any food aid into Gaza—and deliveries that have since resumed remain greatly insufficient.
The situation for Gaza’s civilians has reached a critical point, according to Tedros and other WHO officials: roughly 10% of those assessed are suffering moderate or severe malnutrition, including up to 20% of pregnant women.
In July alone, 5,100 children have enrolled in malnutrition programs, among them 800 severely emaciated, according to Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for the occupied Palestinian territories.