Children 'starving' in Gaza as Israel blocks aid: UNRWA chief

Palestinians, mostly children, wait in long lines with empty pots in hands to get food aid distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) at the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, located 5 kilometers northeast of Deir al-Balah and 8 kilometers south of Gaza City, on April 26, 2025. [Hassan Jedi – Anadolu Agency]

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday that children in the Gaza Strip are “starving” because of Israel’s aid blockade, Anadolu reports.

“#Gaza: children are starving. The Government of Israel continues to block the entry of food + other basics. A manmade & politically motivated starvation. Nearly 2 months of siege. Calls to bring in supplies are going unheeded,” Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

His statement comes as the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it has distributed its last remaining food stocks to kitchens in Gaza.

The enclave risks running out of supplies within days, according to the UN agency.

READ: Gaza Health Ministry: Genocidal war led to the amputation of 1,000 Palestinian children’s limbs

Crossings have been sealed since March 2, blocking all aid for more than seven weeks — the longest closure in Gaza’s history.

Israel resumed attacks in Gaza on March 18, ending a January truce. More than 51,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Weeks into Israel’s aid blockade, Gaza faces deepening hunger: UN agency

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.