UNRWA chief calls for ‘political will’ to end Gaza famine
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, has highlighted that “months of warnings have fallen on deaf ears”, but now the famine is now confirmed in Gaza City and the surrounding areas, it is “time for political will” to end it.
“This is starvation by design and manmade by the Government of Israel. It is the direct result of banning food and other basic supplies for months, including from UNRWA,” he said.
“The spread of famine can still be controlled by a ceasefire and allowing humanitarian organisations to do their work and reach starving people with aid,” Lazzarini added.
Months of warnings have fallen on deaf ears. #famine is now confirmed in #Gaza city.
This is starvation by design & manmade by the Government of Israel.
It is the direct result of banning food & other basic supplies for months including from @UNRWA.
The spread of famine…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 22, 2025
Gaza famine ‘a shameful global failure’: Islamic Relief
The IPC’s confirmation of famine in Gaza “brings shame on the entire world”, says humanitarian charity Islamic Relief.
“Every day our team there sees more people starving to death and children turning into living skeletons before our eyes,” the NGO said in a statement. “Many more will die unless the world acts now.”
The statement said the famine was “no accident” and was “entirely man-made, caused by Israel’s cruel and illegal blockade and the complicity of world leaders who have failed to stop the daily war crimes”.
“Never before has a famine – the most extreme and rarest form of starvation – been so widely predicted and so easily preventable, yet repeated warnings have been ignored.”
Gaza famine ‘entirely predictable’, ‘manufactured’ by Israel
Dr James Smith, an emergency physician who has worked in Gaza, says no one should be surprised at the declaration of famine in northern Gaza.
“This is a situation that was entirely predictable and has been manufactured down to the calorie by the Israeli occupation as a central pillar of its military and its genocidal strategy throughout the Gaza Strip,” Smith told Al Jazeera.
He explained that when starvation sets in, people “suffer in the most profound and undignified ways”.
“And eventually, without remedy – without the specialist, nutritional and medical support that is required – people eventually succumb from a combination often of malnutrition and concurrent infectious diseases.”
