Nournews : Reports from Al-Shifa Hospital and the Gaza Health Ministry show that more than 800 cases of malnutrition have been recorded in just one hospital, with dozens of patients at immediate risk of death. One-third of newborns weigh less than 2.5 kilograms, and pregnant women are suffering from severe anemia. Children, the elderly, and patients with kidney or heart conditions are trapped in a cycle of illness and weakness due to the absence of food and essential medicine. Nurses and doctors, themselves malnourished, have become “silent patients.” This reality demonstrates that famine in Gaza is not limited to statistics, but a sweeping tragedy threatening all segments of society.
UN Confirmation: Acknowledging a Deliberate Crime
The official declaration of famine in Gaza by the International Famine Early-Warning Committee (IPC) marks a historic and painful moment. According to the body’s strict criteria, famine is declared only when 20% of households face extreme food shortages, 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition, and the daily death rate exceeds two per 10,000 people. The simultaneous fulfillment of all three criteria in Gaza shows that the crisis is not a natural consequence of war but the direct outcome of an engineered policy of “forced starvation.” The UN Secretary-General described the catastrophe as the product of the Israeli regime’s actions, calling it “a moral indictment of the occupier and a failure for humanity.”
Hunger as a Policy: The Silent Weapon of Genocide
From the very first days of the war, Israeli officials openly declared that “no food or water will be allowed for the people of Gaza.” This policy has since translated into the closure of border crossings, obstruction of aid deliveries, and even the bombing of food distribution centers. Human rights sources report that the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Center,” claimed by Israel to be for aid, turned into a death trap where thousands of Palestinians were killed while trying to obtain food. These actions demonstrate that the Israeli regime is not treating famine as a side effect of war but as a deliberate weapon of warfare and social destruction—one that acts slowly, yet broadly and devastatingly.
The Responsibility of the International Community: From Condemnation to Action
Today, nearly all international organizations—from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the World Health Organization and Oxfam—have described Gaza’s famine as an organized crime. Warehouses full of aid stand in Egypt and Jordan, but the occupying regime blocks their entry. Despite this rare consensus, no serious practical step has yet been taken to open crossings, impose effective pressure, or enforce real sanctions against Tel Aviv. If the international community fails to respond effectively to this manufactured famine, it will amount to the formal acceptance of “hunger as a weapon of war” in the international order—a dangerous precedent that could one day be used against any other nation.
NOURNEWS