According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 85 children, of whom, 85, have died of hunger and malnutrition, as a result of the siege of Gaza in Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked all aid to Gaza in March, claiming that the thing was to pressure Hamas to accept a unilaterally broken ceasefire later that month.
This week, the Israeli government condemned the situation at the UN, accusing aid agencies of working with Hamas to limit food from reaching people.
This was not the first time Israel had stopped entering Gaza. In March 2024, Israel stopped its UN aid convoys from reaching Gaza in northern Gaza.
In September, 15 international aid groups said Israel was blocking 83% of Gaza’s aid.
In both cases, Israel refused to block aid, denounced either inefficiency or Hamas, and assisted with aid that was not reachable to people in the area who claimed to control much of the war.
So what did Israel say, and does it accept that artificial hunger is ongoing in Gaza?
This is what we know.
So, is there an aid system in Gaza right now?
In May, Israel’s Gaza supported the creation of the GHF after it received much criticism over its US allies and the increased hunger threat that its siege was inflicted on Gaza.
The GHF aims to replace the United Nations and international aid agencies that operate around 400 aid distribution points across Gaza, with four irregularly manipulated distribution points in the Gaza Centre and south.
Since May, Israeli military and civilian contractors understood to be Americans have killed more than 1,000 people trying to access food at GHF distribution points.
There are still limited UN aid delivery operations, but they are so severely restricted that they are not effective.
Will Israel accept that there is hunger in Gaza?
it’s not.
On Friday, the coordinator of Israeli government activities (Cogat), responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza, contradicted the claims of numerous aid agencies, claiming that “there is no hunger in the Gaza Strip.”
But he said there were “pockets” all over Gaza, where people had “food access issues.”
Does Israel claim that adequate aid is distributed?
Not that much.
Israel claims that a shortage is occurring because the UN has not distributed it “rots under the sun.”
Kang, an Israeli military radio, recently reported that Israeli forces had burned or buried aid on roughly 1,000 trucks that were considered corrupt or expired.
David Mensah, a spokesman for Netanyahu’s office, told the BBC on Friday that the UN in Gaza is a “multi-billion dollar racket,” accusing Hamas of “restricting support for their people.”
Mercer did not provide any reason for why the UN would do it or evidence to support his claim.
Is the United Nations working with Hamas?
It’s not according to the United Nations itself.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council and Israeli ambassador Danny Danon accused UN aid chief Tom Fletcher and the Humanitarian Bureau of coordinating in some way with Hamas.
Danon provided no evidence.
Responding in writing the following day, Fletcher said, “I hope that Israeli authorities will soon share evidence that led them to make such claims.”
In January 2024, Israel accused the United Nations relief and another workers’ aid agency of working with Hamas.
An independent review of the Israeli allegations was concluded in April 2024 that it did not provide evidence to support the allegations.
Is Hamas stealing aid?
It’s not according to the Israeli military and its major allies, the United States.
Citing an unnamed Israeli military official, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the UN aid operation was less vulnerable to interference than others, adding that there was no evidence Hamas had regularly stole from the UN.
An internal report by US development agency USAID in late June concluded that there was no evidence of Hamas’ systematic looting of US aid.
So far, the only evidence that aid has been systematically looted points to criminal gangs currently affiliated with Israel and the GHF.
So why is the aid not reaching the people of Gaza?
The months of Israel’s siege have led to an effective collapse of Gaza society, and the food convoy, at risk of being overwhelmed by hungry, desperate crowds, according to the United Nations.
The UN needs the support of Israeli military to provide assistance wherever necessary.
On Wednesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said half of the 16 food distribution requests submitted to Israeli forces had been denied.
“Bureaucratic … and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities, continuing hostility and access restrictions within Gaza, and criminal looting cases, as well as shootings in which people killed and injured gatherings to load aid supplies along the convoy route” have put in limited efforts to supply aid.
What is the outcome?
Hunger v. As mentioned above, 122 people, mostly children, have already died of starvation in Gaza.
Death from hunger occurs in three stages.
The beginning starts as early as the meal that was skipped. Second, if the body depends on stored fat for energy, it comes with a long period of fasting.
The third, often fatal stage is when all preserved fat is depleted and the body transforms into bones and muscles as a source of energy.
It was “a very cruel and slow death,” according to Dr. Omar Abdel Mannan, an English Egyptian pediatrician and neurologist who volunteered in Gaza.
Why do more children die than adults?
Because their bodies use less to do more.
Children, especially infants and toddlers, have far less muscle and fat that attracts during hunger, but their basic metabolism works harder as they grow.
The result is that once food intake stops, there is a significantly reduced buffer.
What is the possibility of the Israeli siege ending?
No one knows.
Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition has so far appeared to be immune to international outrage and internal dissent over the war with Gaza.
It dismisses accusations of committing crimes against humanity and disregarding international law as “anti-Semitism” and “blood honour-loss.”
In the minds of most analysts, the only force and region of the country that has the influence to restrain Israel in Gaza is US President Donald Trump.
But predicting how the infamous mercury US president will act is generally considered a job beyond the capabilities of most analysts.
