It was supposed to be a ceasefire, but Gaza is still suffering. Since the ceasefire began at the end of 2025, UN agencies, independent observers, and even aid workers working to bring food to those in need have noted that aid is being blocked, and distribution points for food items are being deliberately targeted. Additionally, fuel and other essential items are being prevented from entering the state.
One-third of the population goes without food for days at a time, while more than 500,000 people are experiencing extreme famine conditions, and the remaining ones are facing emergency hunger conditions.
What is Engineering Starvation in Gaza?
Starving innocent civilians of food, water, and basic necessities for survival is a War Crime under international humanitarian law. An International Famine Review Committee report has reported that Gaza has been experiencing Famine (Phase 5) since August 2025.
Israel controls the flow of goods into Gaza. It also controls the basic infrastructure required for food systems to operate. Vehicles are restricted from entering certain points. The amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza today is far less than the level needed to address basic humanitarian needs.
For instance, at least 500-600 trucks per day are required for their humanitarian needs. The lack of fuel is affecting the baking, cold storage, and water industries. They are unable to find suppliers that can meet their needs to keep their businesses running.
Moreover, farmland, greenhouses, and access to fishing have been destroyed or left inaccessible. Gaza’s internal food distribution network has been severely damaged.
Children Bear the Worst of It
Unfortunately, one in five children screened by UNICEF in August 2025 was acutely malnourished, and that number continues to rise.
Children fail to gain weight because their mothers are malnourished too and therefore unable to breastfeed them adequately. They live in a food-deprived environment where tea and bread are the only food available. A single biscuit has to be split into three pieces to survive the hunger crisis in Gaza.
A Fabricated Ceasefire
Apparently, the bombing slowed down, but the policy of starvation did not. There are restrictions on crossings, fuel, and other essentials, and the amount of aid into the Gaza Strip.
Deliberate starvation is being used as a weapon of war
The Reasons Behind These Atrocities
Israel is blatantly going against the norms of International Law, and it is not alone. The United States is also supporting it in doing these heinous atrocities. There are multiple checks to ensure this engineering starvation as follows:
Ultra-Restricted Crossings
The only crossing that is left is Rafah, which is also not completely operational. It is only being used for medical emergencies.
Deliberate Fuel Shortages
Fuel powers the whole food system, and when it remains unavailable:
- Bakeries stop
- Transport halts
- Food rots before it reaches the market.
Damaged Infrastructure Due to the Genocide
Warehouses, roads, and storage facilities are either completely or partially damaged. Agricultural land has also been destroyed and is inaccessible. Moreover, fishing space is limited as well.
Complete Market Collapse
When supply falls, prices definitely go up. The food becomes unaffordable for the innocent Palestinians and their children.
The Human Cost
In many parts of Gaza, three meals are replaced with one meal, and even some families haven’t had food for days.
Children are malnourished, while parents make trade-offs every day:
- Going without food so children can eat
- Splitting a small piece amongst many
- Waiting for hours for bread or aid
Health services are also under pressure, as malnutrition weakens the immune system. Disease spreads more easily, and people with chronic illnesses struggle to survive. Even after the ceasefire, 1.6 million people are still severely hungry.
Under the Scope of International Humanitarian Law
It is illegal under international law to even starve an enemy. The reports of UN experts and human-rights organisations have pointed out that blocking food and aid breaches the line.
The deliberations go on at the political and legal levels. The end effect is the same: civilians starve.
As per the data analysis:
- Over 500,000 people are facing famine.
- 640,000 have been in catastrophic hunger
- A third have gone for days without food.
- Rates of child malnutrition have grown rapidly, doubling in months.
This will Go Beyond Gaza
Engineering Starvation will lead to a large hunger crisis in the state, and people will be dying due to famine. If we do not stop the starvation in Gaza, starvation will be used as a weapon in all other battles, and civilians will be viewed as “legitimate targets” caused by famine in the future.
While the ceasefire in Gaza may have apparently come to an end, hunger has certainly not, as the means to get food to the genocidal zone remain difficult. Israel and the United States, which advocate democracy and human rights, should realize the fact that even the life of a single child is important, and their policies will soon turn out to be unsuccessful.
