One in Three People in Gaza Has Not Eaten for Days, Says UN’s Top Humanitarian Official

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has sounded the alarm over the rapidly accelerating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, warning that one in three people has gone without food “for days” and children are “wasting away” amid crippling shortages of food aid.

In a Monday statement on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Fletcher stressed that “Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian crisis before the eyes of the world,” noting that those trying to obtain food aid are being shot at, and children are “melting” from hunger.

He noted that “aid should not be blocked, delayed, or distributed under attack.”

The UN’s top humanitarian official stressed that aid convoys must be granted permission to cross borders quickly and emphasized the need to end the targeting of people at aid distribution sites.

UN chief: We must never accept hunger as ‘weapon of war’

This comes as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called upon the international community to denounce the use of hunger as a weapon of war, as anger grows worldwide over the starvation imposed by Israel in Gaza.

“Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,” the UN chief said via videoconference on Monday.

Gaza is currently facing the most severe humanitarian crisis it has ever encountered, marked by a devastating famine coinciding with a genocidal war initiated by Israel on October 7, 2023.

As of March 2, 2025, all border crossings into the Strip have been sealed by Israel and the regime has obstructed the entry of food and medical assistance, resulting in extensive famine throughout the coastal enclave.

According to the latest figures, 134 Palestinians, including 88 children, have died from famine and malnutrition since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has cautioned that the incidence of malnutrition in children under five years old has doubled from March to June due to the persistent blockade.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that the rates of malnutrition in Gaza have escalated to concerning levels, attributing the loss of many lives to the intentional Israeli blockade and delays in aid.

Approximately one in five children under the age of five in Gaza City is experiencing acute malnutrition.

At least 59,821 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 144,851 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.