The director of Gaza’s largest hospital reported Tuesday that 21 children have died from malnutrition and starvation over the past three days, as Israel’s military campaign intensifies and aid access remains dangerously limited.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya of Al-Shifa Medical Complex stated that new cases of starvation are arriving “every moment” at Gaza’s few remaining functional hospitals. “There could be alarming numbers of deaths due to starvation,” he warned.
Over two million people in Gaza are facing critical shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Many residents have been killed while attempting to collect scarce humanitarian aid at limited distribution points.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as a “horror show” and warned of a level of devastation without modern parallel. After a failed ceasefire extension in March, Israel imposed a total blockade, allowing only minimal aid to trickle in since late May. Stocks built during the ceasefire have now depleted.
The UN said over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access food since the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over major aid operations, sidelining the UN’s network. Most of the deaths occurred near GHF aid sites.
Despite Israeli claims—such as a video shared by military spokesman Nadav Shoshani showing 950 trucks of aid waiting for pickup in Gaza—distribution has been hampered by unsafe conditions and logistical breakdowns.
Deadly Strikes Continue Across Gaza
On Tuesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 15 deaths, including 13 killed in an Israeli strike on Al-Shati camp near Gaza City, home to thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tents. Survivors described horrific scenes of fire, debris, and dismembered bodies.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Israeli troops of raiding a WHO residence, detaining and interrogating male staff at gunpoint while forcing women and children to evacuate.
Israel has expanded its ground operations in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, previously considered relatively safe. Ongoing shelling and troop movement have now put between 50,000 to 80,000 people in immediate danger, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Nearly 88% of the Gaza Strip is now under evacuation orders or militarised zones, leaving 2.4 million people squeezed into diminishing space.
Controversial Redevelopment Plans Spark Outrage
As the humanitarian crisis unfolds, far-right Israeli leaders convened in Jerusalem to discuss a “master plan” to redevelop Gaza. The proposed vision includes housing for 1.2 million Jewish settlers, industrial zones, and a coastal “riviera”-style tourist complex.
Church leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, condemned the humanitarian toll as “morally unacceptable”, following a deadly Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church last week.
Since October 2023, 59,106 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The war began after a Hamas attack that killed 1,219 people in Israel.
