Gaza’s Health Ministry on Wednesday said that another 10 Palestinians have starved to death due to the US and Israeli blockade, as more than 100 aid and rights organizations are sounding the alarm about their own workers facing starvation under the siege.
The Health Ministry said that a total of 111 people, mainly children, have starved to death throughout the genocidal war. Starvation deaths have spiked over the past week, and a source told the Palestinian news agency WAFA that 25 children have died of malnutrition in the past three days.
On top of the starvation deaths, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to reach food aid. Most of the killings occurred near distribution sites run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), while a few hundred were killed as they were attempting to reach UN aid trucks.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, 111 international organizations said that the “mass starvation” occurring in Gaza was due to Israel’s restrictions and the killing of aid seekers. “The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the organizations said.
The groups called for governments to demand an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of all restrictions on aid. “It is time to take decisive action: demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response; and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organizations,” the organizations said.
The groups, which include Doctors Without Borders, the Catholic charity Caritas, the US-based Project HOPE, and many others, said that aid workers in Gaza were “now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families.”
“With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,” the groups said.
In response to the statement, Israel claimed the aid groups were lying and accused them of echoing “Hamas propaganda.” Instead of working to mitigate the starvation, Israel has launched a new ground offensive in Deir el-Balah, where many aid groups are based.
The aid organizations said there is food waiting to be delivered that Israel continues to block. “Just outside Gaza, in warehouses—and even within Gaza itself—tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organizations blocked from accessing or delivering it,” they said.
