By Annunthra Rangan
While mainstream media reports estimate the death toll in Gaza at around 60,000, several credible sources and on-ground reports suggest that the actual number of casualties may exceed 200,000. The humanitarian crisis has intensified significantly in recent weeks. Many residents are afraid to leave their tents due to the fear of being targeted by military activity.
Since last month, the region has witnessed a deepening starvation crisis. Aid trucks have been largely prevented from entering Gaza, resulting in severe food shortages and widespread hunger. While limited airdrops have been conducted, reports indicate that many of these are being delivered in high-risk areas, making it nearly impossible for civilians to access them safely.
There are increasing concerns from international observers and humanitarian organizations about the conditions on the ground, with some drawing parallels to historical human rights violations. Accounts from aid workers describe instances where individuals attempting to collect food or basic supplies are met with violence. In one such incident, a father reportedly returned home carrying the body of his son who was fatally shot while trying to retrieve flour from an aid drop.
Children are among the most affected. Malnutrition is rampant, and images emerging from the region depict distressing levels of physical decline. In addition to hunger, the population faces the spread of disease due to deteriorating sanitary conditions and a collapsed healthcare system.
TRUMP DISAGREES WITH NETANYAHU
US President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that there is no starvation in Gaza. Trump stated he was “not particularly convinced” and asserted that “real starvation” is occurring in the region, adding, “You can’t fake that.” His remarks came amid widespread international condemnation of the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, following the circulation of images showing severely malnourished children in the conflict zone.
In response to growing pressure, Trump has proposed the establishment of food distribution centers in Gaza and emphasized the need for broader international cooperation. “We need to galvanize other countries to help ensure aid reaches the people,” he said, adding that this effort would require applying pressure on Israel due to the severity of the crisis, which he described as a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Between March and May, Israel reportedly blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, citing security concerns. Since then, it has relied on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)– an initiative backed by both the U.S. and Israel, to oversee aid delivery in a manner intended to prevent diversion to Hamas. However, the GHF’s operations have been marred by violence. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, over 1,000 individuals have been killed near GHF aid sites. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have described these incidents as crowd control measures, while disputing the reported death toll.
OPPOSITION FROM INTELLECTUALS
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, a growing number of prominent Israeli voices are publicly condemning their government’s actions. In a rare and powerful appeal, 31 well-known Israeli figures–including artists, academics, former officials, and award-winning professionals–have called on the international community to impose severe sanctions on Israel.
The signatories include Academy Award-winner Yuval Abraham, former Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair, and Avraham Burg, former Speaker of the Knesset and head of the Jewish Agency. They are joined by multiple recipients of the Israel Prize, the country’s highest cultural honor.
In their open letter, the group accuses the Israeli government of systematically starving the population of Gaza and raising the specter of mass displacement. They describe the situation as a campaign of collective punishment, urging the world to respond with strong diplomatic and economic pressure until a permanent ceasefire is achieved and the siege is lifted. “The international community must act decisively,” the letter states, “by implementing crippling sanctions until this brutal campaign ends.”
On the ground, the toll on children is staggering. Since April, hospitals have reported treating over 20,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition. The situation has become so dire that, since mid-July alone, at least 16 children under the age of five have died due to hunger-related complications. Medical infrastructure in Gaza is overwhelmed, struggling to cope with the sheer volume of cases as access to food, water, and essential care remains critically limited.
A recent alert follows the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis from May 2025, which projected catastrophic levels of food insecurity across Gaza by September. The report estimates that at least 500,000 individuals will fall into IPC Phase 5, classified as “catastrophe”, characterized by extreme food deprivation, destitution, and increased risk of death. This crisis is unfolding in the context of nearly two years of ongoing conflict, triggered by Hamas-led attacks in Israel in October 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,250 fatalities and the abduction of around 250 individuals.
Since then, intense fighting has led to the destruction of nearly 70 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure, severely limiting access to basic services. The IPC also confirmed that displacement has become widespread, with less than 12 percent of the territory considered relatively safe for civilians.
In response, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have begun airdropping humanitarian supplies, 25 tonnes were delivered most recently. Additionally, Israel has announced daily humanitarian pauses and the opening of corridors to facilitate aid distribution. However, humanitarian agencies warn that these efforts are falling short. One-third of Gaza’s population has gone without food for several days, and more than 90,000 women and children are now in urgent need of medical and nutritional care due to acute malnutrition. Local health authorities report at least 147 deaths from starvation so far, with children accounting for 80 percent of the fatalities.
Aid agencies and UN officials have raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of air drops. Not only are they inefficient, one truck can carry as much as an entire day’s worth of air drops but they are also unsafe. There have been reports of injuries from packages falling on shelters, and the food being delivered does not meet the specific nutritional needs of severely malnourished individuals, particularly young children who require specialized therapeutic feeding.
UNRWA SAYS MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has described the air drops as a “distraction” from the need to enable large-scale, coordinated ground-based aid operations. Vital supplies and humanitarian personnel are stationed just across the border, ready to assist, but access remains restricted.
The long-term impact of mass starvation is expected to be profound. Experts warn that children who survive malnutrition may suffer lifelong developmental setbacks– both cognitive and physical– which could be passed on to future generations, leaving lasting scars on the population.
The world has slowly begun to acknowledge Palestine as a “state.” But what meaning does that recognition hold after 21 months of relentless war, after countless children have starved, and after entire families have been wiped out? Recognition without action is hollow.
While Gaza endures one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, global powers continue to tiptoe around the issue– too afraid to confront Israel or challenge the United States. What does it say about the global order when a single nation can shape the will of most of the world, while an entire people face starvation, displacement, and death in silence? This is not just a humanitarian crisis. This is a genocide unfolding in real time. Gaza is being strangled, cut off from food, water, and aid, while the world watches, debates, and delays.
Where are the international treaties meant to protect human life? Where is the accountability from the United Nations, from the world’s most powerful NGOs, from those who claim to defend human rights and global justice? Their voices are faint, their actions slower still.
The world remains dangerously asleep, lulled by politics, fear, and selective morality. But the truth is right before us. Gaza is bleeding. Gaza is starving. And Gaza is being destroyed. If now is not the time to act, then when?
It is time to stop pretending neutrality is a virtue. It is time to stand firmly, unapologetically, and urgently against the genocide of the Palestinian people. History will remember where we stood and silence will not be seen as innocence.
—The writer is a Senior Research Officer at Chennai Centre for China Studies. Her research interests constitute China-WANA (West Asia and North Africa) relations and human rights