Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza

Gaza, Jul 24: World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has issued a stark warning over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling the current food situation “mass starvation” and declaring it “man-made.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Dr Tedros said, “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.”

His remarks came as 111 humanitarian and rights organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Oxfam, jointly stated that Gaza is in the grip of "mass starvation," urging immediate international intervention.

Despite Israel easing a months-long blockade in late May, more than 2.1 million residents in Gaza remain cut off from consistent aid, with food and essential supplies critically low. The ongoing conflict, now in its 21st month, has left Gaza’s population not only vulnerable to bombs and bullets, but now increasingly to hunger and disease.

“We are witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths,” said Dr Tedros, who noted that rates of global acute malnutrition have surpassed 10 percent. He added that over 20 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women screened are severely malnourished.

The WHO has officially recorded 21 deaths of children under the age of five linked to malnutrition since January, though officials fear the actual number is far higher. On Tuesday, the director of Gaza’s largest hospital reported that 21 children had died from starvation in just three days.

Dr Tedros also pointed out that the collapse of aid delivery and ongoing restrictions on humanitarian access have accelerated the hunger crisis. “This is not a natural disaster — it is caused by humans,” he said, directly pointing to the blockade enforced by Israeli authorities.

In a chilling revelation, the UN rights office confirmed that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access food aid since late May. “Not only were 1,026 killed while trying to feed themselves or their families — thousands more were wounded,” Tedros said.

Calling for urgent global action, the WHO chief concluded: “We demand full access, we demand a ceasefire, and we demand a political solution — a lasting solution — to end this human tragedy.”