Gaza City, May 22, 2025 – A dire humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in the Gaza Strip, where a prolonged blockade has pushed the region to the brink of famine, claiming the lives of at least 29 individuals, primarily children and the elderly, due to starvation-related causes in recent days, according to Palestinian health officials. The crisis has intensified fears that thousands more could face similar fates without urgent and sustained aid.
Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Majed Abu Ramadan addressed the media on Thursday, warning that the death toll from hunger-related illnesses is likely to rise. “The situation is catastrophic,” he stated. “We’ve lost 29 vulnerable people, including young children and elderly citizens, to starvation in just the past few days. The risk to thousands more is imminent unless we see a massive influx of aid.” He emphasized that the estimate of 14,000 children potentially at risk of death, as cited by U.N. officials, may be conservative given the worsening conditions.
For the first time in 11 weeks, Israel permitted a limited number of aid trucks—estimated at 90 to 100—to enter Gaza on Thursday, offering a glimmer of hope to the beleaguered population. However, officials and aid workers stress that this delivery, primarily consisting of flour for bakeries, is woefully inadequate to address the scale of need. “This is a drop in the ocean,” said a local aid coordinator, who requested anonymity. “Gaza needs hundreds of trucks daily, carrying food, medical supplies, and other essentials, to prevent a full-scale humanitarian disaster.”
The blockade, imposed by Israel in March, halted all supplies, including food, fuel, and medical resources, citing concerns that Hamas was diverting aid for military purposes—a claim the group has consistently rejected. The restrictions have crippled Gaza’s infrastructure, with only a handful of the region’s 36 hospitals remaining partially operational. Dr. Abu Ramadan reported that over 90% of medical supplies have been depleted, leaving healthcare workers struggling to treat malnutrition, dehydration, and other preventable conditions.
International observers, including a global hunger monitoring group, recently warned that approximately 500,000 people in Gaza—roughly a quarter of the population—are facing acute starvation risks. The limited aid entering the region has so far been directed to southern and central areas, leaving northern Gaza, where conditions are reportedly most severe, largely cut off.
Local residents describe harrowing scenes of desperation. “Families are eating whatever they can find—leaves, scraps, anything to survive,” said Amina, a mother of three from Gaza City. “We’ve been waiting for help for weeks, but it’s not enough. My children are hungry every day.”
Aid organizations are urgently calling for an end to the blockade and the establishment of safe, consistent channels for humanitarian deliveries. “The international community must act swiftly to prevent further loss of life,” said a spokesperson for a regional aid agency. “Gaza cannot wait.”
As the crisis deepens, the partial resumption of aid deliveries marks a small step forward, but the road to recovery remains fraught. Without immediate and sustained intervention, Gaza’s hunger crisis threatens to claim countless more lives, leaving a region already scarred by conflict on the edge of an unprecedented catastrophe.
