Increased food provisions in Gaza lead to Trump's prediction of serious hunger issues
The ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to take a heavy toll on its residents, with the humanitarian situation rapidly deteriorating. Despite announcements by the U.S. and the UK about establishing new food centers, the overall status and accessibility of these centers remain critically insufficient.
More than one in three people in Gaza (about 39%) are going days without food, while nearly a quarter of the population—over 500,000 people—are enduring famine-like conditions. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been able to distribute over 22,000 metric tons of food aid to starving civilians, but this is still only a fraction of the estimated need of over 62,000 metric tons per month to meet basic humanitarian food assistance requirements.
Access to fresh and nutritious food remains severely restricted, with commercial imports of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and dairy effectively halted due to blockades and infrastructure damage. Israeli military operations and restrictions continue to limit the movement of aid, although some "tactical pauses" and humanitarian corridors have been announced to allow UN and aid convoys better access.
The food centers announced by Western governments have not yet resolved these fundamental access and supply issues. Local sources report worsening hunger, deaths from malnutrition, and desperate attempts by Palestinians to obtain food from the limited aid distribution points available.
In recent days, the UN and humanitarian agencies have begun delivering more truckloads of food after the Israeli military declared a daily "tactical pause" in the fighting and opened secure aid routes. However, the easing of the blockade coincided with the beginning of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's operations, which replaced the UN-led aid distribution system and have been criticized as inadequate.
The Israeli defense ministry's civil affairs agency COGAT reported 54 people killed in Israeli attacks on Monday. Two local rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, have accused Israel of "genocide" in Gaza. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the reduction of restrictions to lifesaving aid, but stated that it is not a solution to end the crisis in Gaza.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 59,921 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Urgent calls for scaling up and facilitating unrestricted humanitarian assistance are growing louder. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has stated that opening all crossings and flooding Gaza with assistance is the only way to avert further deepening of starvation. Egypt has sent trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli post just inside Gaza. The Jordanian and United Arab Emirates have started airdropping aid packages to Gaza. Germany has announced it will work with Jordan to airlift aid for Gaza and coordinate with France and Britain.
The United States, along with the UK and European Union, plans to establish new food centers in Gaza to help more than two million Palestinians facing starvation and malnutrition. However, these centers have been criticized for being inaccessible and for facilitating Israel's military goals. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's operations have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops while trying to access its sites.
Jamil Safadi, a resident of Gaza, had been searching for food for two weeks before successfully obtaining five kilos of flour on Monday, which he shared with his neighbor. Despite these small victories, the crisis in Gaza remains critical, with no end in sight.
- The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to escalate, with over half a million people enduring famine-like conditions and one-third of the population going days without food.
- The United Nations World Food Programme has distributed food aid, but it is only a fraction of the estimated need to meet basic food assistance requirements.
- Access to fresh and nutritious food remains severely restricted due to blockades and infrastructure damage, and commercial imports are halted.
- Urgent calls for scaling up and facilitating unrestricted humanitarian assistance are growing louder, with organizations advocating for opening all crossings and flooding Gaza with aid to prevent further starvation.