A new and harrowing chapter of suffering is unfolding in Gaza, marked by widespread hunger and the relentless shedding of Palestinian blood. Following the collapse of a ceasefire in March 2025, the Israeli military has launched an unprecedented and intensifying campaign against the Gaza Strip, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. The Israeli occupation continues to inflict severe physical and psychological harm on unarmed civilians, with actions that flagrantly disregard international laws and the Human Rights Charter.

Starvation has emerged as a deliberate tactic used against the population. Those who have managed to survive the airstrikes and ground assaults now face a slower, but equally deadly fate—hunger. Thousands of children, weakened and visibly distressed, stand for hours in long lines outside charity-run kitchens operated by a handful of volunteers. These makeshift food stations offer only minimal rations, barely enough to silence the hunger gnawing at them and their families. The scenes of children desperately fighting just to eat paint a painful picture of a generation being broken by war, fear, and deprivation.

The Israeli blockade has become a central tool in this crisis. In a calculated effort to isolate Gaza and deny its people the basic means of survival, all border crossings have been sealed. Aid convoys carrying food, medicine, and essential supplies are blocked, while humanitarian pleas go unheeded by the international community. Despite being under the gaze of global human rights organizations, this siege continues unabated.

The consequences of this blockade are devastating. In just 80 days of total closure, 58 people have reportedly died from malnutrition. Another 242 have perished due to a lack of access to food and medicine—most of them elderly. Over 300 miscarriages have also been recorded, the result of pregnant women being unable to access the nutrients required to sustain life.

Children have been hit the hardest. Acute malnutrition and intestinal illnesses are now widespread, compounded by the ban on nutritional supplements, vaccines, and specialized foods. According to the World Food Programme, more than 70,000 children in Gaza are now facing severe levels of malnutrition. Doctors warn that the situation is especially dire for infants and children under five, who are now at risk of long-term physical and cognitive damage. Deficiencies in critical nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, and iodine are already leading to stunted growth and delayed mental, linguistic, and motor development. With weakened immune systems, these children are now also more vulnerable to infectious diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia—diseases that spread quickly in war-torn environments.

Dr. Suzan Ma’rouf, a physician at Patient Friend’s Hospital in Gaza, reported a sharp increase in child malnutrition since the war began. “These children have lived through a prolonged war that has taken a toll on their health. They suffer from diseases, wasting, and extreme fatigue,” she said. “The brief truce was not enough to allow these children to regain their strength. Since the closure of the crossings and the ban on aid deliveries on March 2, the number of malnourished children has skyrocketed. We simply don’t have enough supplements to meet the overwhelming need.”

The children of Gaza are bearing the brunt of a war they did not start. Their childhoods are being stripped away in plain view of the world. Yet their cries—from under the rubble, from behind barricades, from beneath the weight of hunger—have yet to shake the conscience of the international community.