Silent genocide: The weaponization of starvation in besieged Gaza

The risk of famine in Gaza is escalating due to the Zionist regime’s deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid, including food, amidst an ongoing blockade. This action aligns with the regime’s strategy of weaponizing starvation.

According to reports and assessments, the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza faces prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, disease, and death.

This is one of the worst hunger crises unfolding in the world.

One in five people in Gaza faces starvation

A new UN-backed report warns that, after nearly three months of the Zionist regime’s blockade of desperately needed humanitarian aid, one in five people in the Gaza Strip is facing starvation, and the entire territory is inching closer to famine.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report states that Gaza’s residents are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, with the region at severe risk of famine—the most extreme form of hunger crisis.

The report notes a high likelihood of famine occurring by the end of September (early October), leaving most of Gaza’s population without access to food, water, shelter, or medicine.

This warning comes as the UN, several NGOs, and Gaza’s civilians report that conditions have worsened since the Zionist regime resumed its assault on the besieged region in March, with residents struggling to access food, medicine, and clean water.

Pregnant women and children: Primary victims of imposed famine

Children and pregnant women in Gaza are particularly vulnerable to the severe risks of famine.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, nearly 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition are expected among children under five, and around 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will require treatment for acute malnutrition.

Over the 19 months since the Zionist regime’s assault on Gaza began, people have resorted to scavenging for food in garbage, eating grass and animal feed, and drinking contaminated water.

Starving mothers have been unable to produce enough milk to feed their infants.

A gynecologist working in Gaza City said: “Women in Gaza are forced to choose between feeding their children or preserving their own health. Most sacrifice their well-being to ensure their children’s survival.”

She added: “During cesarean sections, it was evident that the women’s intestinal and uterine tissues were severely damaged, likely due to consuming low-quality, mostly canned foods.”

Zionists’ admission of crimes

The American Outlet the New York Times reported that some officers in the Zionist regime’s military privately acknowledge that Gaza is on the brink of famine.

Over the past few months, the UN and other aid organizations have warned that famine is imminent in Gaza, but Zionist officials claimed that despite the food and fuel blockade, the lives of Gaza’s residents are not at risk.

Officers specializing in COGAT, the Zionist regime’s official agency overseeing policy in Gaza and the West Bank, reached the same conclusion as aid organizations. These officers privately briefed senior commanders on the deteriorating situation, urgently warning that many people in the region are only weeks away from starvation.

Three Zionist military personnel familiar with the situation in besieged Gaza stated that some military officials, in private discussions, admitted that Palestinians in Gaza are facing widespread starvation unless aid deliveries resume within weeks.

Officers monitoring Gaza’s humanitarian situation have recently warned their commanders that, without the immediate lifting of the blockade, Gaza’s residents will likely lose access to enough food to meet their minimum daily nutritional needs.

The growing acknowledgment within parts of the Zionist security establishment of the hunger crisis in Gaza comes as the regime vows to escalate the war in Gaza to achieve its objectives, which have remained elusive after over 19 months of conflict.

The military officials’ analysis reveals a gap between the Zionist regime’s public stance on continuing to block aid and its private discussions, indicating that parts of the regime’s security establishment have reached the same conclusions as leading aid groups, which have warned for months about the dangers of the ongoing Gaza blockade.

This analysis underscores the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza: most bakeries have shut down, charitable kitchens are closing, and the UN World Food Program, which distributes aid and coordinates shipments, reports that its food reserves are depleted.

Dire warnings: Gaza’s families are starving

Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Program, recently said: “Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is stuck at the border.”

She emphasized: “If we wait for famine to be officially declared, it will be too late. Assessments show that nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population is on the brink of famine.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, added: “We don’t need to wait for a famine to be declared in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick, and dying, while food and medicine are available just minutes away at the border.”

He stressed: “Reports indicate that without immediate access to food and essential supplies, the situation will continue to deteriorate, leading to more deaths and famine.”