Mass Starvation in Gaza as Israeli Siege Cuts Off Food and Aid Access
Two million Palestinians face acute hunger amid Israel’s total blockade, soaring food prices, and collapsing aid systems, with children and families surviving on bare essentials or nothing at all.
Watan-Two million Palestinians in Gaza are starving as Israel’s military siege clamps down on all border crossings, cutting off the last lifelines of food and humanitarian aid. The hunger affects everyone—civilians, journalists, and aid workers alike.
Initially, the Israeli military claimed that Gaza had enough food for 50 days. But by the time of this report, over 60 days of total closure had passed—not a single bag of flour entered Gaza.
As a result, all bakeries shut down after a month. Frozen meat vanished from shelves. Imported fruits and vegetables disappeared. Only a small quantity of locally grown vegetables remains—grown in bomb-scarred soil.
WFP Aid Runs Out as Gaza Families Face Starvation and Soaring Food Prices
The World Food Programme (WFP) attempted to respond by distributing emergency food baskets, often just 1 liter of cooking oil and 50 fortified biscuits per family—barely enough to satisfy children. But eventually, the WFP declared its warehouses empty.
In local markets, extreme demand for basic goods like legumes pushed prices beyond affordability. Most Gazans now survive on canned beans and hummus, while restaurants have closed and those away from home go hungry with nothing to eat.
The hunger has become visibly painful. People walk faintly, pale-faced, and slow-footed, weakened by forced starvation.
“I’m a mother of five daughters,” said Rifqa Aziz, 39, to Al-Quds Al-Arabi. “They ask for dinner and I’m at a loss. I try to provide one or two meals a day, often relying on charity kitchens, but now I can’t even afford flour to bake for them.”
Even when food is available, it’s not enough. “They still cry of hunger after eating,” she adds. “Boiled lentils or beans cooked in water can’t satisfy them after long hours of fasting.”
Aziz said her WFP flour rations are gone. She can’t afford basic cheese or vegetables. A small salad—3 tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, and 2 onions—costs about 30 shekels ($10 USD). A single glass of milk per child is now impossible due to the skyrocketing price of sugar, now 80 shekels ($25 USD).
In Deir al-Balah market, only a few vegetables remain—tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, eggplant, zucchini, molokhia, and cucumbers—with prices per kilo ranging from 30 to 60 shekels. Garlic and lemons are gone.
After more than a year of war and siege, families have lost their income, savings, and ability to work or travel. Public transportation is expensive. People buy by the piece—one tomato, one cucumber, and a pinch of salt to make a tiny salad to accompany mujaddara (a lentil and rice dish).
“I have a pharmacy degree,” said Anwar Al-Qader, now selling vegetables on a street stand. “People ask about prices but don’t buy. I don’t blame them. I can’t feed my own 11-member family more than bread once a day.”
He adds: “Even quarter-kilo portions are too much. We tell people small prices just to avoid shocking them.”
Gaza Markets Collapse as Prices Soar and Bread Becomes Unaffordable
Farming in eastern Gaza has also become impossible due to soaring costs, fuel shortages, and Israeli fire targeting agricultural zones. Farmers now risk their lives to reach their land.
In Deir al-Balah, one kilo of flour costs 40 shekels ($13 USD), enough for only 7 loaves of bread—barely enough for breakfast for five children. Even traditional handmade bakeries have shut down.
“I used to bake Iraqi-style bread,” said Abdullah Fayad, a local baker. “But now a bag of flour costs $300—how could I sell one loaf for a dollar? It’s unaffordable. I can’t even feed my own children.”
Flour shortages meant that families didn’t store flour, fearing it would spoil in Gaza’s heat. “We didn’t expect to be cut off for this long,” he added. “Now our children are starving.”
The Broader Crisis:
Gaza faces an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. Israel imposed a total blockade after violating the March 18 ceasefire with Palestinian factions. On that same night, over 400 Palestinians were killed in one sudden attack.
Israel closed all crossings on March 2, and since then, not a single aid truck has entered.
The World Food Programme announced its food stocks in Gaza had been fully depleted. The last aid was delivered to 47 charity kitchens. 80% of Gaza’s population depends on food aid.
The UNRWA said 3,000 aid trucks are waiting to enter Gaza—but are blocked by the siege. One million Palestinian children depend on that aid. Their lives are now in danger.
By early April, all bakeries in Gaza closed their doors as flour and fuel from the WFP ran out due to the total Israeli blockade.
