By Samantha M
Today, many children are facing extreme starvation in Gaza. Adults are also experiencing malnourishment due to the lack of food. Families are unable to access food or baby formula because there is a limited food supply from the only organization Israel has allowed to distribute food: the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), an organization created by Israel and backed by the U.S. The World Food Programme (WFP) and World Central Kitchen (WCK) have tried to continue to operate but have been heavily constricted by access restrictions from Israel therefore not providing enough aid necessary to feed Palestinians.
In March 2025, Israel halted all aid from humanitarian organizations, including the UN, from entering Gaza. Israel claimed that Hamas was selling the aid for profit; Hamas denies this claim. Now, 80% of children are at risk of death from malnutrition. Many children are facing extreme starvation, leading to countless deaths.
The lack of food, leading to malnourishment, and the lack of sanitation are also contributing to an increased number of diseases in an area where people are barely able to survive. Due to the lack of medical supplies and personnel, many diseases or illnesses are untreatable.
Dr. Maynard, a British surgeon who works at Nassau Hospital in Gaza, told The World that doctors who came to Gaza packed cartons of baby formula for newborns, but these were confiscated by Israeli troops. He has also claimed that children are facing extreme starvation, which has made it difficult to treat patients in the hospital, and several newborns have died due to insufficient nutrition. He has further claimed that children have been shot, sustaining gunshot wounds, when trying to access food at the GHF distribution sites.
Since the start of the GHF, many children and adults have been shot by Israeli soldiers when trying to access aid. Humanitarian aid should not be distributed by military personnel or on military grounds. The aid sites are only open for 11 minutes and are in difficult-to-reach locations. This has made it dangerous and inhumane for Palestinians to get the little aid that they can.
The only solution is for there to be an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter to assist Palestinian children and adults.