UN agencies sound alarm as severe hunger grips Gaza; urgent calls grow for ceasefire, aid access, and protection of civilians.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued its starkest warning yet: Gaza is teetering on the edge of full-scale famine, with nearly 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. At a UN briefing in Geneva on Monday, senior WFP official Ross Smith described the situation as “catastrophic” and worsening by the day.
“A quarter of the population are facing famine-like conditions,” Smith said. “People are dying from lack of assistance every day.”
Food distribution has slowed to a trickle. Since mid-May, the WFP has managed to deliver less than 10 percent of the needed food supply due to Israeli restrictions and ongoing hostilities. Smith emphasized that the WFP has enough food stored outside Gaza to feed the entire population for two months — but only if a ceasefire is implemented and secure aid corridors are opened.
Markets in Gaza have collapsed, and humanitarian access is perilously limited. Smith said a minimum of 100 aid trucks per day is required to meet basic needs. “Until we have that scale of assistance, it’s going to be really, really difficult to control the situation on the ground,” he said.
Death at Aid Sites
The desperation of Gaza’s population was tragically evident over the weekend when scores of civilians were killed near a WFP convoy at a Gaza checkpoint. WFP staff reported at least 40 fatalities, while local sources estimate as many as 80.
“These were not militants,” Smith said. “These were people putting their lives on the line, trying to get something off a truck.”
The WFP denies any collaboration with the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and does not use armed escorts for its convoys, reaffirming its commitment to neutrality and humanitarian principles.
Smith called on all armed actors to stay away from aid convoys and distribution sites to prevent further loss of life. “One death is too many. This is far, far too many,” he said.
Collapse of Infrastructure and Mass Displacement
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that a new Israeli evacuation order affecting four neighborhoods in Deir Al-Balah is severely disrupting Gaza’s collapsing aid infrastructure. The affected area includes over 50,000 civilians, 30,000 of whom were already displaced and sheltering in 57 different locations.
The order encompasses critical facilities, including health clinics, water systems, humanitarian warehouses, and Gaza’s Southern Desalination Plant. OCHA warned that any further damage to these assets could result in life-threatening consequences.
According to UN data, nearly 88 percent of Gaza is now covered by displacement orders or Israeli-controlled zones, effectively compressing 2.1 million people into just 12 percent of the territory.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the targeting of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure, calling the situation in Gaza one of the worst humanitarian emergencies of the 21st century.
“Sites sheltering civilians must be protected,” he said, adding that UN guesthouses have recently been hit despite their locations being communicated to all parties.
Guterres reiterated the UN’s demand for unimpeded aid delivery, protection of civilians, and the immediate release of all hostages. He stressed that Israel, under international law, is obligated to facilitate humanitarian relief.
“The population remains gravely undersupplied with food, water, and medicine,” Guterres said. “We are seeing widespread malnutrition and entirely avoidable deaths. This must end.”