In Gaza, doctors, aid workers, and journalists are now facing starvation alongside the civilians they serve, as Israel’s blockade continues to choke the flow of food, clean water, and medical supplies into the enclave. The humanitarian crisis, described by the United Nations as “inhumane,” has prompted urgent calls from over a hundred international organizations demanding Israel lift its restrictions and allow life-saving aid to reach the besieged population.
Aid Groups Warn of Total Depletion
A joint statement by 111 international humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, urged Israel to end the blockade and agree to a ceasefire, stating that aid supplies in Gaza are now “totally depleted.” The groups highlighted the dire conditions where even aid workers are now queuing for food, risking their lives to feed their families while witnessing colleagues “waste away before their eyes.”
Reports from the Palestinian health ministry indicate that in just 24 hours, 15 people, including four children, died of starvation, while cases of severe malnutrition arrive at Gaza’s hospitals every moment. Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya from Al-Shifa Medical Complex described the situation as critical, with children and adults alike suffering from acute hunger in a region that was already heavily dependent on aid before the conflict escalated.
Journalists Facing Starvation and Danger
The blockade has not only affected civilians but also journalists reporting from within Gaza. The international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) revealed it is working to evacuate its freelance journalists from Gaza, citing an “untenable” situation where some reporters are too weak from hunger to continue working. AFP’s journalist union reported that one journalist, Bashar Taleb, posted that he could no longer walk due to starvation, while another journalist described the daily risks of covering stories in Gaza without knowing if they would return alive.
According to the UN, more than 1,000 people have died while attempting to access food, including 766 near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites and 288 near UN and other humanitarian convoys. The UN has criticized the ongoing shootings near aid distribution sites, with Juliette Touma of UNRWA calling the food distribution system a “sadistic death-trap,” as snipers reportedly fire on civilians gathering for aid.
As the blockade continues, humanitarian agencies stress that the risk to doctors, nurses, journalists, and aid workers grows by the day, as many are now collapsing from hunger while trying to perform their duties amid the constant threat of violence. Calls for immediate action have intensified globally, urging Israel to permit safe passage for aid, enable the evacuation of journalists and aid workers, and end the starvation crisis that is deepening in Gaza.
