Medical professionals from Doctors Without Borders allege Israel's use of starvation tactics as a means of power.
The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to escalate, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calling for Israeli authorities to allow the import of food and essential aid. The organization's recent investigations have uncovered unprecedented levels of malnutrition in the region, sparking international concern.
On a Friday, MSF made a stark accusation, claiming that Israel is deliberately using hunger as a weapon against the population in Gaza. This allegation comes as the number of people treated for malnutrition at MSF's hospital in Gaza City has quadrupled since mid-May.
According to MSF, a quarter of children aged six months to five years, and a quarter of treated pregnant and lactating women, are underweight in Gaza. These findings are particularly alarming, as they suggest a severe and worsening humanitarian crisis.
The UN has also reported concerning figures, with nutrition screenings conducted in Gaza City in July finding over 16% of children acutely malnourished. This exceeds the UN threshold (15%) used to declare famine conditions.
The World Food Programme (WFP) states that one in three Palestinians in Gaza go for days without food. Gaza hospitals have reported 10 to 15 deaths from starvation daily as of late July, far above previous averages.
Humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International, have documented Israel's use of starvation as a deliberate weapon of war. Israel's militarized aid distribution system and conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza have been highlighted in testimonies from medical staff and displaced families.
The siege and blockade enforced by Israeli authorities have led to the depletion of food, medical supplies, clean water, and fuel in Gaza. This has severely worsened living conditions and contributed to the crisis.
Amnesty International and other NGOs consider the starvation of civilians in Gaza as part of a broader campaign that constitutes a war crime. They also point to ongoing forced displacement and destruction of infrastructure exacerbating the situation.
Despite the end of the war, 49 hostages are still being held by Islamists in the Gaza Strip, with at least 27 of them reportedly dead. The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by Hamas' unprecedented large-scale attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
International pressure on Israel is growing in response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Over a hundred humanitarian and human rights organizations have warned of potential mass starvation in the region.
As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, the urgent need for humanitarian aid and the lifting of Israeli-imposed restrictions cannot be overstated. The lives of countless innocent civilians hang in the balance.
[1] Doctors Without Borders (MSF) report, July 2025 [2] Amnesty International report, July 2025 [3] UN OCHA report, July 2025
- The European Union, in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, is urging the Israeli authorities to allow science-based solutions and advancements in health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and nutrition to help mitigate the unprecedented levels of malnutrition in the region.
- In the midst of this crisis, the serious accusation by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) returns to the political arena, as they allege that Israel's policies regarding war-and-conflicts and general-news are deliberately using hunger as a weapon against the population in Gaza.
- The crisis in Gaza has also attracted attention from crime-and-justice organizations, such as Amnesty International, who are documenting human rights violations like Israel's use of starvation as a deliberate weapon of war, which they consider a war crime.
- As international organizations such as the United Nations, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Amnesty International continue to call for the lifting of Israeli-imposed restrictions and the provision of humanitarian aid, the fate of countless innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip remains anchored in the balance between politics and human rights.
