When Famine Becomes Irreversible in Gaza

In Gaza, hunger has outgrown the language of need. It has become a brutal threshold that, once crossed, no amount of food or aid can reverse. 

This is a humanitarian catastrophe. Roughly 470,000 Palestinians are facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5). More than 20 children under the age of five have already died from starvation in the past month alone, with many more at severe risk of death.

This is not a natural disaster. This is a crisis created by people – a deliberate act of collective punishment. Gaza is being starved by design. Israel’s siege, bombardment and systematic obstruction of aid have created conditions where survival itself is a daily battle.

The limited amounts of aid that have entered Gaza in recent weeks are a drop in an ocean of need – insufficient in quantity, inconsistent in delivery and often delayed for days, weeks or months. The blockade remains the central barrier preventing meaningful humanitarian relief interventions. 

Since late May, the introduction of a militarized aid distribution model – through the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – has turned food delivery into a deadly ordeal. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid, either crushed in chaotic crowds or shot near convoy routes. Rather than providing relief, this system has deepened the suffering.

Starvation is not just about food. It is about the body’s slow and painful descent into total collapse. And at some point, even the return of food comes too late.

“The hunger crisis in Gaza has reached new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row,” said a senior official with the UN World Food Programme WFP (July 2025).

The Tipping Point: When Hunger Becomes Irreversible

Prolonged starvation fundamentally alters the body. As the body exhausts its fat reserves and begins to consume muscle for energy, essential organs start to deteriorate. The heart shrinks, the liver becomes fatty and dysfunctional, and the immune system weakens significantly.

In children, the damage is even more extreme. Severe acute malnutrition leads to stunted growth, delayed brain development and irreversible cognitive impairments. Even when food is reintroduced, many of these children may never catch up.

Refeeding Isn’t a Simple Solution

Even when food becomes available, malnourished bodies require careful, medicalized refeeding. If calories and nutrients are introduced too quickly, the body can go into shock, a condition known as refeeding syndrome. Without electrolytes and trained health personnel, refeeding can trigger cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, or seizures.

The danger is not hypothetical. One of the most tragic documented cases of refeeding syndrome occurred after World War II, when survivors of concentration camps were suddenly given food. Despite the best intentions of rescuers who wanted to help the starving prisoners by giving them food immediately, many prisoners did not survive the metabolic shock. This painful event led to the identification of refeeding syndrome – a medical condition that demonstrates how even lifesaving aid must be carefully managed. 

In Gaza, the decimated health infrastructure makes this level of care nearly impossible.

A Systemic Breakdown

Beyond the calorie count, Gaza’s crisis is exacerbated by the collapse of systems that keep people alive. Clean water is scarce. Sanitation networks are destroyed. Health centers are overwhelmed or bombed out. Conditions like diarrhea, respiratory infections and skin infections are rampant and thrive in undernourished bodies.

Malnutrition weakens the immune system while illness, in turn, increases nutritional needs, creating a vicious cycle. And when children are sick, even therapeutic feeding may not work.

Despite everything, Anera staff remain committed to serving their people, providing clean water for drinking and cooking, delivering healthcare and distributing meals whenever food and aid are available and permitted.

Time Is Running Out

Anera teams have seen firsthand the devastating toll of hunger. In northern Gaza, some children can no longer cry, because they are too weak. Mothers are diluting infant formula with dirty water because there is no other option.

This is not just a food crisis. It is a race against the clock to prevent mass irreversible harm.

What Must Be Done Now

The only way to prevent this from becoming a generational catastrophe is to act now – with urgency, clarity and resolve. Large-scale, uninterrupted food aid must reach every part of Gaza, so that no one is left to face hunger alone. Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures – like airdrops – are no substitute for the sustained, coordinated response this crisis demands. States can and must act now – before there are no lives left to save.

What You Can Do

This is not a moment to look away. It’s time to act. Here’s how:

• Please read and share this statement with your networks >>>
• Support emergency aid efforts. Organizations like Anera are working under siege conditions to deliver food, clean water and healthcare services. Your support matters.
• Amplify the truth. This is a man-made famine. Share verified information and raise your voice to let the world know what is really happening.

An entire population is being starved. Gaza needs food, medicine and dignity, but above all, it needs the siege to end. It needs an end to this inhumane war.