SENIOR UN officials have warned that Israel’s genocide and blockade of Gaza have created a man-made famine that is escalating at terrifying speed, with child malnutrition tripling in less than six months.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of UNRWA, said on Wednesday that nearly 100,000 children under the age of five have been screened since March, revealing ‘alarming’ results.
In Gaza City, one in three children is now malnourished which is six times higher than before the collapse of the March ceasefire.
‘This is not a natural disaster,’ Lazzarini stressed.
‘This is a man-made famine, and one that is preventable.’
The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Thursday that 271 Palestinians, including 112 children, have died from starvation since October 7th, 2023.
The deaths are the direct result of Israel’s policy of blocking aid convoys and cutting off food, medicine, and fuel.
According to UNRWA, aid warehouses in Egypt and Jordan contain enough supplies for 6,000 truckloads, which could sustain the population for three months, but Israel continues to deny them entry.
Gaza’s Government Media Office says that 1.2 million children are now suffering acute food insecurity.
Adnan Abu Hasna, media adviser to UNRWA, said the situation is nothing short of catastrophic.
‘What we are witnessing is an unprecedented humanitarian tsunami,’ he told reporters.
He explained that Israel maintains direct military control or evacuation orders over 86 per cent of Gaza, making vast areas uninhabitable and leaving the occupying power fully responsible under international law for the survival of more than two million people.
He warned that attempts to force Palestinians into displacement or southward relocation constitute flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter.
Abu Hasna further accused Israel of trying to dismantle UNRWA itself as part of a wider strategy to erase the Palestinian refugee issue and prevent any chance of a political settlement.
Despite attacks on its operations, the agency continues to deliver services: Between March and July, UNRWA provided medical care to nearly 1.5 million patients – averaging 18,000 per day – while also supplying water, shelter, psychological support, and waste collection under dire conditions.
‘What we are doing now is not about improving quality of life,’ Abu Hasna said.
‘It is about keeping people alive in their homeland.’
International organisations continue to warn that Gaza’s health and nutrition crisis is spiralling, with children suffering the harshest consequences of Israel’s deliberate starvation policy.
