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THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation has warned of man-made “mass starvation” in Gaza, with food deliveries into the Palestinian territory “far below what is needed for the survival of the population”.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed the words of more than 100 aid organisations that widespread starvation was taking place in the region, ahead of a visit by a senior US envoy to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor.
“The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation,” Tedros told reporters.
A large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don’t know what you would call it other than mass-starvation – and it’s man-made.
He said there has been a “deadly surge” in malnutrition-related deaths, highlighting that “rates of global acute malnutrition exceed 10%, and over 20% of pregnant and breastfeeding women that have been screened are malnourished, often severely”.
He also warned that “the hunger crisis is being accelerated by the collapse of aid pipelines and restrictions on access”.
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that humanity is “shocked by what is happening in Gaza”.
“It’s a stain on Israel at this stage. It’s a shame that any government would continue a war that is wreaking such devastation on poor children and innocent children at the scale and level that is happening,” Martin told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland.
The Fianna Fáil leader added that what is happening in Gaza is “horrific” and “beyond any comprehension”.
The Taoiseach said he was “very disturbed by the undermining of the UN and the relief organisations” by Israel.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said the suffering of civilians in Gaza “has reached new depths of despair and misery”.
Mass starvation is now spreading across the population. People are dying every day from lack of food and medicines. Children are starving before our eyes,” he said in a statement.
“Hundreds have been killed while trying to collect what little food is available. This is an affront to our collective humanity.”
Harris reiterated a call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, for Israel to lift its blockade and allow the full resumption of aid into Gaza, and for Hamas to release all hostages taken on 7 October 2023.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people face severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict.
The UN said that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May – effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system.
A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that “our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away”.
The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms.
It came a day after the United States said its envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may then visit the Middle East.
Witkoff comes with “a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Pressure has been mounting on Israel, including on the domestic front where protesters have called for the end to the war.
In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also coming under pressure from his cabinet ministers to recognise Palestine as a state.
Starmer has been urged by a number of senior ministers to take a leading role in issuing recognition and not wait to do it alongside other European countries, reports The Guardian.
Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza’s population is still suffering extreme scarcities.
Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.
In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods.
“Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,” the signatories said.
“It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,” they added.
“The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the “horror” facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack was unprecedented in recent years.
The head of Gaza’s largest hospital said Tuesday 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise appearance on a US social media influencer podcast has drawn widespread criticism, particularly for the hosts.
The Nelk Boys, who have more than 8.5 million subscribers on YouTube and were previously better known for pranks and humour, has featured interviews with many right-wing figures, including annual sit-downs with Donald Trump before his re-election last year.
But on Monday’s podcast, Netanyahu’s appearance appeared to backfire, as viewers criticised the presenters for a lack of preparedness in their questions to the Israeli leader.
In one exchange, host Aaron Steinberg said he hoped to “get educated” on the Gaza war by interviewing Netanyahu. His co-host Kyle Forgeard similarly said: “I see so much stuff about what’s going on in Israel and Iran and Palestine, and to be honest, I just really don’t know what is going on there.”
Benjamin Netanyahu on the fullsendpodcast LIVE at 12PM/EST pic.twitter.com/eJLLxYvhMd
— Full Send Podcast (@fullsendpodcast) July 21, 2025
Netanyahu dismissed much of the criticism as “propaganda”, and later, was quizzed by the interviews on his favourite order from McDonald’s.
With reporting by– © AFP2025
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