KEY POINTS
- Over 110 Palestinians, including at least 80 children, have died of starvation in Gaza.
- Global pressure mounts on Israel amid accusations of using starvation as a weapon of war.
- EU and France condemn Israel’s actions; urge immediate humanitarian access.
- Over 1,000 aid-seekers killed since May 27 under the US-Israel-backed aid delivery system.
- Gaza officials report hospitals overwhelmed with malnourished people.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 10 more Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from hunger to 111, including at least 80 children, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The worsening humanitarian crisis has intensified international calls to hold Israel accountable for what aid organisations are describing as deliberate and systematic starvation of the Gaza population.
The Health Ministry also reported that Israeli attacks killed at least 100 people, including 34 aid seekers, and wounded 534 others across the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.
At least 13 additional bodies were recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli strikes, the ministry said.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed 59,219 Palestinians and injured 143,045, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of aid seekers killed since the introduction of a new aid distribution mechanism backed by the US and Israel on 27 May has reached 1,060, with over 7,207 others injured.
Global condemnation
France strongly condemned Israel’s expanding military operations in central Gaza, warning that the offensive is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The French Foreign Ministry criticised the displacement of civilians in Deir el-Balah and the disruption of UN and NGO operations.
It also condemned what it termed the “indefensible” killing of over 1,000 aid-seeking Palestinians at distribution points in recent months.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned that “all options remain on the table” if Israel fails to meet its commitments to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. She urged the Israeli military to cease lethal force against civilians collecting food.
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
EU President Ursula von der Leyen said that the images of civilians being killed in Gaza during humanitarian aid distributions are “unbearable” and reiterated the EU’s call for the safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid and respect for international law.
“Civilians cannot be targets. Never. The images from Gaza are unbearable. The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid. And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law,” von der Leyen wrote in a post on social media platform X. “Israel must deliver on its pledges,” she added.
Civilians cannot be targets. Never.
The images from Gaza are unbearable.
The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid.
And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law.
Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long.… https://t.co/VhaKxUXka0
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 22, 2025
Meanwhile, more than 100 aid and human rights organisations—including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Médecins Sans Frontières—issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling for immediate international action.
The groups demanded an end to the siege, unrestricted humanitarian access, and a UN-led aid response.
“The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the statement said.
Humanitarian catastrophe
Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, has entered the third day of a hunger strike in protest of the conditions, calling on the international community to join him in solidarity.
“We are living a daily catastrophe… people faint out of exhaustion and hunger,” he said.
Red Crescent spokesperson Nebal Farsakh warned of an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” citing severe shortages of food, water, and medicine due to the prolonged closure of all crossings into Gaza.
She said hospitals are admitting growing numbers of malnourished children, pregnant women, and elderly people.
Almost 101 people died because of #starvation, including 80 children’
Palestine Red Crescent Society Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh warns ‘situation only getting worse’ in #Gaza
‘Unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe’ pic.twitter.com/1aYeDKOMWt— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) July 22, 2025
Gaza ceasefire talks
In a symbolic move, Tunisian President Kais Saied presented graphic images of starving children in Gaza to US presidential adviser Massad Boulos.
“It is a crime against all of humanity,” Saied said, urging urgent global action to stop what he described as “crimes against the Palestinian people.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also renewed its call for Israel to open border crossings and allow the entry of essential supplies. “Open the gates. Let aid in,” the agency posted on social media.
#Gaza: people are struggling to find the most basic items—soap, sanitary pads, diapers.
Meanwhile, thousands of hygiene kits are packed and ready in UNRWA warehouses in Jordan and Egypt, just waiting for the green light.
Open the gates.
Let aid in. pic.twitter.com/Tu7YM5Fe9l— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Europe this week for talks aimed at brokering a ceasefire.
According to Axios, Witkoff will meet Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome and may head to Doha depending on progress.
Deadly aid sites
The Guardian reported that Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution points, which are backed by the US and Israel, remain open for as little as eight minutes at a time, turning them into “death traps.”
Displaced Palestinians, often ordered to avoid these zones, risk their lives to obtain food.
In a report, the UN said over 1,000 people have been killed while attempting to collect aid in the past two months, mostly in Israeli shootings near GHF centres.
Humanitarian organisations say their workers are now joining food queues themselves, risking death to feed their families.
Meanwhile, Israel maintains it is not responsible for the food crisis, claiming that hundreds of aid trucks are awaiting collection inside Gaza.
