Desperate messages of starvation from Gaza: UNRWA
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says it is receiving “desperate messages of starvation” from inside Gaza, including from its staff, as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate.
In a post on X, the agency said: “Food prices have increased 40 fold. Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months.”
UNRWA stressed that the suffering is not inevitable, calling the crisis “manmade” and urging immediate action. “The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.”
The agency’s warning comes as Gaza teeters on the brink of famine, with severe restrictions on aid and limited access through border crossings continuing to fuel the crisis.
Appeals and negotiations won’t make Israel stop starving Gaza
Amid the global outrage, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem was able to negotiate for church officials to visit the Christian community, deliver limited food and medicine to both Christian and Muslim families, and evacuate some of the injured for treatment outside Gaza.
These humanitarian actions, while welcomed by those in dire need in Gaza, are yet another sign of international failure.
Why must the delivery of food, water and medicine be “earned” through negotiation? Why are basic rights enshrined in international law subject to political bargaining?
Palestinians deeply appreciate the church leaders’ efforts. Their actions reflect compassion and moral clarity.
But such steps should not be necessary. Under international humanitarian law, occupying powers have binding obligations to the people under their control. Securing access to food, water, medicine and critical services cannot be charitable favours – they are legal duties.
Gaza malnutrition reaching levels ‘never seen’ before: WFP
The World Food Programme’s Palestine representative, Antoine Renard, tells Al Jazeera that the WFP has warned for “weeks” that Gaza is facing starvation.
“You have a level of despair that people are ready to risk their lives just to reach any of the assistance actually coming into Gaza. Just to give you an idea, [the price of] 1kg of flour is currently $100,” Renard said from occupied East Jerusalem.
He explained that many people in Gaza are not able to eat daily, eating instead every three days, which leads to people fainting. Only a “very limited” number of charity kitchens are still running in the enclave, Renard added.
“[There’s a] soaring number of people facing malnutrition, and we can really see that the situation is really getting to levels that we’ve never seen ever before.”
