Gaza heads toward famine

The imminent threat of famine in Gaza, particularly due to the comprehensive and ongoing Israeli blockade over the past 50 days, is deeply alarming. This marks the longest uninterrupted restriction on the entry of humanitarian aid and essential goods since the onset of Israel’s genocide in Gaza over 18 months ago.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor field team in Gaza has observed alarming indicators pointing to a severe food crisis that could soon reach famine levels.

The ongoing Israeli blockade has caused a severe and persistent shortage of essential food data-x-items for survival, including grains, proteins, and fats. Much of the remaining agricultural and food infrastructure in the region has been bombed, destroyed, or is currently under Israeli military control.

As a result, Gaza residents have been forced to sell their most basic possessions just to afford food, signaling the beginning of a breakdown in their ability to endure hunger.

Families in Gaza have had to reduce the number of daily meals, leading to significant weight loss among residents. In the complete absence of fresh and nutritious food, most people now rely almost entirely on the limited supply of canned goods in the region, while many others depend entirely on food banks for daily meals. However, these food banks have faced intense Israeli military attacks in recent weeks, depriving residents of even the most basic food needs.

Israeli forces have deliberately targeted over 37 aid distribution centers and 28 food banks as part of a systematic policy to starve civilians and exacerbate their suffering. Such scenes in Gaza are unprecedented and reflect a horrific humanitarian collapse caused by Israel’s blockade and deliberate targeting of basic survival resources.

After the closure of all operational bakeries in Gaza, Euro-Med Monitor’s field team conducted visits and documented the near-total absence of bread in the markets of the besieged region.

Additionally, red and white meat, whether fresh or frozen, is unavailable. The few vegetables that can be found are sold at exorbitantly high prices. This worsening food security crisis is rapidly pushing Palestinians in Gaza toward an imminent famine.

The famine imposed by the Israeli regime on civilians in Gaza represents one of the most severe and inhumane forms of genocide, as well as a grave violation of human dignity.

It goes beyond mere food deprivation, as Israel seeks to destroy livelihoods, obstruct humanitarian aid, target food production resources, and deliberately disrupt essential supply chains to undermine people’s ability to survive.

The most devastating impacts of this policy affect women and, tragically, children, who make up over two-thirds of Gaza’s population. Children suffer from a slow and painful death due to severe malnutrition, weakened immune systems, and stunted growth, all stemming from a critical lack of food and medical care.

Meanwhile, pregnant and breastfeeding women face life-threatening risks to themselves and their fetuses or infants due to the absence of essential nutrition and the complete collapse of the healthcare system.

The consequences of this policy extend far beyond the present, threatening the future of Palestinians as a national group. By creating a generation at risk of long-term physical, psychological, and cognitive disabilities, Israel reveals a deliberate and destructive intent aligned with the defining characteristics of genocide under international law.

Currently, 2.3 million people in the besieged Gaza Strip are displaced, enduring severe food insecurity amid relentless Israeli bombardment and attacks targeting civilians and essential infrastructure. The risk of famine is an imminent catastrophe unless urgent action is taken.

The international community bears direct responsibility for the escalating famine in Gaza, driven by Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon—a systematic tactic in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people, aimed at erasing them as a national group.

Without international intervention, the crisis will soon reach an irreversible point, with daily deaths expected due to severe food shortages and weakened immunity. This occurs under continuous siege, the denial of humanitarian aid systems, and the widespread destruction of critical infrastructure, while the lack of effective international intervention allows the humanitarian collapse to accelerate unchecked.