Death Toll Due To Starvation In Gaza Strip Continues To Increase

Illustration of food distribution for Gazans. (Twitter/@WCKitchen)

JAKARTA - The death toll from hunger and malnutrition in the Gaza Strip continues to grow, with senior United Nations officials saying the crisis in the Palestinian enclave was man-made.

Medical sources in Gaza on Wednesday announced ten Palestinians, including two children, died from hunger and malnutrition in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, quoted from WAFA Aug. 28.

The addition resulted in the total death toll from hunger in Gaza soaring to 313 people, with 119 of them children.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen due to the blockade and lack of food and medical supplies. This severe hunger is closely related to the genocide war that Israel has waged since October 7, 2023.

Since March 2, 2025, occupation authorities have closed all crossings to the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of most food and medical aids, which further accelerates the spread of hunger in the region.

The United Nations Agency for Assistance and Work for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has warned that malnutrition among children under five has doubled between March and June due to ongoing blockades.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms the level of malnutrition in Gaza has reached an alarming rate, with nearly one in five children under five under five in Gaza City suffering from acute malnutrition.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce MSuya at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday highlighted the latest Integrated Food Safety Phase (IPC) classification analysis, which confirmed hunger was taking place in the Gaza phase 5 gubernatorial region and is expected to expand in the coming weeks.

He highlighted some of these figures, saying more than half a million people are currently facing hunger, poverty, and deaths, which could exceed 640,000 by the end of September.

Msuya noted that around one million Gazans were in phase 4 emergency conditions, and more than 390,000 faced phase 3 crisis conditions.

He added that at least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and the middle of next year. Meanwhile, the number of those at risk of death has tripled to more than 43,000.

Among pregnant and lactating women, she said the number is predicted to increase from 17,000 to 55,000.

"Let's be clear: This hunger is not due to drought or other natural disasters," he said.

"This is a disaster created by conflict that has caused the deaths, injuries, damage, and mass evacuation of civilians."

Msuya urged the Council to ensure an immediate and sustainable cessation of hostilities to save lives and stop the spread of hunger.

The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs further emphasized the need for safe, fast, and unobstructed humanitarian access through all entry points. All aid, including food, medicines, water, fuel, and shelter, must be distributed to everyone in need.

He also called for the restoration of commercial flows of essential goods on a large scale, including market systems, essential services, and local food production.

"Ending this man-made crisis requires us to act as if we are mothers, fathers, children, and our families who are struggling to survive in Gaza today," he said.

As of yesterday, the Gaza Ministry of Health recorded 62.5 Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli genocide in Gaza since October 2023, quoted from Anadolu.

Meanwhile, the injured victims in the Palestinian enclave in the same period have reached 158,927 people.

The ministry also noted that the figure included 2,158 people who died and more than 15,843 others were injured while seeking help since May 27.