At least 29 children and elderly individuals have succumbed to starvation-related deaths in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan. Thousands more are at risk as limited aid trickles into the besieged territory. Abu Ramadan warned that the United Nations aid chief’s estimate of 14,000 babies potentially dying without food aid is “very realistic” and might even be an underestimation.
The situation on the ground remains dire, with 90 truckloads of aid entering Gaza, mostly consisting of flour for bakeries. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) noted that while bakeries have resumed operations, “bread alone is not enough for people to survive.” The WFP emphasized the need for scaled-up assistance to push back the risk of famine.
Gaza residents describe the aid as a “drop in the ocean” compared to the population’s needs. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported that 500 aid trucks are needed daily to avert the food crisis. Ahmed Abed al-Daym, a Gaza resident, welcomed the aid trucks as a “positive sign” but acknowledged that they fall short of meeting the territory’s needs. “Our homes are empty – there is no bread, and our children are going hungry,” he said.
The humanitarian crisis is further compounded by ongoing Israeli military attacks. At least 51 Palestinians have been killed since dawn on Thursday, and the Israeli military has announced new forced evacuation orders for Palestinians in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 53,655 Palestinians have been killed and over 121,000 injured since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023.
Reem Zidiah, another Gaza resident, expressed the desperation and uncertainty faced by many, saying, “All of us here in Gaza, we don’t think about tomorrow because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow – whether we’re going to live or die.” Action Against Hunger teams warn that specific nutritional supplies for children under five are about to run out, further exacerbating the crisis.