Israel's Starvation Machine: UN Expert Warns of Intentional Mass Starvation in Gaza

Strategic Insights -

Palestinians in Gaza have been suffering from catastrophic hunger, with more than 80% of the population experiencing extreme levels of hunger, according to UN and international aid agency figures. The conditions have been exacerbated by Israel's systematic destruction of local food production and its blockade of aid, which has been in place since October 2023. UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has repeatedly warned that Israel's actions amount to genocide, a crime against humanity, and a war crime. Despite his warnings, the situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate, with widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease driving a sharp rise in hunger-related deaths.

Key Takeaways:

  • Israel's blockade of Gaza has resulted in 80% of the population experiencing catastrophic hunger, with 20,000 children hospitalized for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July.
  • UN special rapporteur Michael Fakhri has warned that Israel's actions amount to genocide, a crime against humanity, and a war crime, and that governments and corporations cannot claim to be surprised by the horror unfolding in Gaza.
  • Israel has destroyed local food production, including greenhouses, orchards, and farmland, and has blocked aid, in violation of international law.
  • The "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" across the Gaza Strip, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
  • Fakhri has said that famine is always predictable and preventable, but that there is no verb to famine, and that people are deliberately starved, not famished.
  • Despite stark images of skeletal Palestinians, the Israeli government and some of its allies have continued to insist that the hunger is the result of logistical problems, not a state policy.
  • A group of UN experts, including Fakhri, declared a famine in July 2024 after the first deaths from starvation were reported in Gaza.
  • Fakhri has published a detailed report for the UN into Israel's decades-long control over food production and supplies to Palestinians.

Statistics:

  • 80% of the people in Gaza experience catastrophic hunger, according to UN and international aid agency figures.
  • 20,000 children were hospitalized for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July.
  • More than 1,300 starving Palestinians have been killed trying to access food.
  • At least 60,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombs and tanks.

Sources:

  • UN special rapporteur Michael Fakhri's report on Israel's control over food production and supplies to Palestinians
  • The Guardian, February 28, 2024, "We have never seen a civilian population made to go so hungry so quickly and so completely"
  • The International Court of Justice, March 2024, "Israel must immediately take all necessary and effective measures to ensure unfettered access to humanitarian aid"
  • UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), alert issued in July 2024
  • UNICEF, statement on malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, March 2025
  • Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), statement on aid distribution in Gaza, June 2024