GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a grim warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, describing the widespread hunger in the besieged enclave as a “man-made mass starvation.”
Speaking at a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not mince words. “I don’t know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it’s man-made,” he said. “This is the result of a blockade.”
His comments come on the heels of a joint plea from over 100 aid organizations, all raising alarm over the deteriorating situation in Gaza. Despite stockpiles of food, medicine, and clean water sitting just outside the borders, bureaucratic red tape and ongoing hostilities have severely hindered deliveries into the region.
The crisis traces back to the renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas, which erupted in October 2023. A full halt in aid deliveries occurred in March 2025, with only partial relief allowed since May. The flow of essential goods has been trickling in at best, failing to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.
While Israel maintains it is facilitating humanitarian access, officials continue to enforce tight security measures aimed at preventing aid from being diverted to militant groups. They’ve repeatedly claimed that the current crisis stems from Hamas’s governance, not Israeli policy.
But health workers and humanitarian officials on the ground tell a different story.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, 10 more Palestinians died of starvation overnight, pushing the confirmed hunger-related death toll to at least 111, with most fatalities occurring in recent weeks. Among them, 21 children have succumbed to malnutrition this year, according to WHO data — though the actual number is likely far higher.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” a WHO spokesperson cautioned, pointing out that most treatment centres are running dangerously low on life-saving supplies. Makeshift clinics and hospitals, already operating under pressure, are overwhelmed.
Between March and May, the United Nations and its partners were unable to deliver food for nearly 80 consecutive days. Although aid has resumed since, WHO officials say current delivery levels are woefully inadequate.
“The situation is dire,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the occupied Palestinian territories. He reported that nearly 10 per cent of the population screened in Gaza is suffering from moderate to severe malnutrition, including up to 20 per cent of pregnant women.
Just in July, over 5,100 children were admitted to emergency nutrition programs — 800 of them classified as severely emaciated.
The hunger emergency has been compounded by the collapse of Gaza’s aid infrastructure, unrelenting military activity, and serious restrictions placed on humanitarian personnel. Aid trucks face long delays at crossing points, while local hospitals are being pushed to the brink — struggling to function with limited fuel, medicine, and personnel.
Reiterating the urgent need for action, WHO has called for unrestricted humanitarian access and demanded that all parties enable the safe and swift delivery of aid.
“This is no longer about war alone,” Dr. Tedros said. “People are dying not only from airstrikes, but from hunger — and hunger, in this case, is entirely preventable.”
Despite multiple alerts from the UN and international NGOs, diplomatic efforts to secure sustained aid corridors remain bogged down by geopolitical deadlock, with no immediate solution in sight.
