KEY POINTS
- Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed with new malnutrition cases, as aid shortages worsen.
- UN chief warned Gaza’s remaining lifelines are collapsing under Israel’s blockade.
- Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid, according to the UN rights office.
- Journalists and aid workers are fainting from hunger, says UNRWA.
- WHO condemned Israeli attacks on UN facilities and staff, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has deepened further, with at least 33 Palestinians, including 12 children, dying from malnutrition and starvation in the past 48 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
This brings the total number of starvation-related deaths since the outbreak of war in October 2023 to 101, of which 80 are children.
The head of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, confirmed that 21 children had died in the past three days from hunger-related causes.
“These deaths occurred at Al-Shifa in Gaza City, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis,” he told reporters.
He added that new cases of malnutrition and starvation were being admitted to hospitals “every moment”, warning that Gaza was heading towards an “alarming” number of deaths caused by hunger.
Hunger and malnutrition
UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that “the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing,” citing growing reports of both children and adults suffering from severe malnutrition.
His warning comes as the humanitarian situation deteriorates following Israel’s full blockade of Gaza on 2 March, after ceasefire negotiations failed.
The blockade halted the flow of food, medicine, and other aid until limited trucks were allowed entry again in late May. However, stocks accumulated during the ceasefire have since depleted.
World Food Programme Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza earlier this month, described the situation as “the worst” he had ever seen.
On Sunday, Gaza’s civil defence reported the deaths of at least three infants due to “severe hunger and malnutrition”.
Global calls for immediate ceasefire
The crisis has prompted urgent calls from the international community. On Monday, more than two dozen countries — including key Israeli allies such as Britain, France, Australia and Canada — issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its military campaign across Gaza. The head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said on Tuesday that troops must be ready for a “wide-scale and comprehensive campaign”.
He described the war as “one of the most complex” the IDF has faced, with Israel “paying a heavy price in combat”.
The situation for journalists in Gaza is equally dire. The journalists’ association of Agence France-Presse (AFP) warned that the last reporters working in Gaza could soon die of starvation without urgent intervention.
In a letter, the association said its freelancers were “living in absolute destitution” while risking their lives to report on the conflict.
AFP Journalists’ Association on reporters in Gaza: ‘Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us can remember seeing a colleague die of hunger. We refuse to see them die’ pic.twitter.com/wrBBtX82fn
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) July 21, 2025
Forced displacement of Palestinians
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned Israel’s forced displacement orders in Deir el-Balah, saying the risks of unlawful killings and other violations of international law were extremely high.
“It seemed the nightmare couldn’t possibly get worse. And yet it does,” he said in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera.
The UN’s human rights office said that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to access food since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
Of the 1,054 recorded deaths, 766 occurred near GHF aid distribution sites and 288 near UN and other humanitarian convoys, according to spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to stop targeting civilians at aid points.
“The killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible,” she said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that she conveyed this directly to Israeli minister Gideon Saar.
The killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible.
I spoke again with @gideonsaar to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points.
All options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) July 22, 2025
The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) also reported that its staff, including doctors and aid workers, are fainting due to hunger and exhaustion.
People in #Gaza, including UNRWA colleagues, are fainting due to severe hunger. They are being starved.
Meanwhile, just a few kilometers away from Gaza supermarkets and shops are loaded with food and other goods.
Lift the siege.
Allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicines. pic.twitter.com/fnoKhI5NNh
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025
“Caretakers are now in need of care,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, as quoted by Reuters.
On Tuesday, medical sources, cited by Al Jazeera, said that at least 35 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, including eight who were waiting for aid.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that Israeli forces entered a UN facility in Deir el-Balah, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the incident and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire, calling it “overdue”.
.@WHO’s staff residence in Deir al Balah, #Gaza, was attacked three times today as well as its main warehouse.
Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were… pic.twitter.com/PGjaYrhkfH
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 21, 2025
