MSF: Israel using starvation as weapon in Gaza
Shafaq News – Gaza
On Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) accused Israel of weaponizing hunger in Gaza by restricting humanitarian aid, warning that malnutrition has reached catastrophic levels across the Strip.
According to the medical charity, one in four children under five, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, are now suffering from malnutrition. In Gaza City alone, cases have quadrupled since mid-May, and severe malnutrition among children has tripled in just two weeks.
“Each morning, the same question echoes: will I eat today?” said Caroline Willemen, MSF’s Field Coordinator. Emergency Response Lead Amande Bazerolle described the situation as one where civilians are being “deliberately cut off from life-sustaining aid.”
MSF urged an immediate ceasefire, reopening of crossings, and the establishment of a UN-coordinated system to allow the unrestricted flow of food, medicine, fuel, and shelter.
Similar warnings have been issued by over 100 aid groups—including Oxfam and Save the Children—who say Gaza is on the brink of mass starvation as food supplies vanish and access remains obstructed.
UN agencies have also sounded the alarm; hospitals are overwhelmed, therapeutic food stocks are nearly depleted, and UNICEF has warned that key nutrition supplements may run out by mid-August.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 122 people have died from hunger so far, including 83 children, pushing the total death toll to over 59,000 since Israel's war began.
