Babies Are Starving While Israel Blocks Aid and Denies Famine
September 5, 2025
It shouldn’t be shocking anymore, but somehow it is. Israel is denying that famine exists in Gaza while threatening to shut down humanitarian groups trying to keep Palestinians alive.
Starting next week, on September 9, any aid organization that refuses to hand over the personal details of all staff and their families will be forced to stop operations. Aid workers are painfully aware that this information can and will be used to target them. Israel has a verifiable track record of targeting and killing humanitarians.
For Israel to continue to deny that famine exists, that babies are starving — something we can all see every day on our screens in 4K — is abhorrent.
A Man-Made Famine
The reality on the ground tells a very different story from Israel’s denials.
A UN-backed panel, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, has officially declared famine in Gaza City, the first such declaration in the Middle East. Over half a million people in Gaza are already trapped in famine conditions, a number projected to grow past 640,000 by the end of September.
This famine is entirely man-made, the direct result of a 22-month-long military offensive and crushing restrictions on humanitarian aid. By next year, experts warn that 132,000 children under five will face acute malnutrition and risk death.
UNICEF has already reported more than 7,000 children under five admitted to malnutrition recovery programs in just two weeks this August, with the full month expected to exceed 15,000 cases, a dramatic surge compared to earlier this year.
Aid Denied, Deliveries Blocked
Despite these grim warnings, Israel continues to obstruct humanitarian response.
Since March, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies into Gaza. In July alone, more than 60 requests to deliver aid were denied. Meanwhile, a new private mechanism known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by Israel and the United States, has replaced the UN system. Many aid groups refuse to participate, citing safety risks and political interference.
The results are devastating. Seven million dollars worth of rice sits just miles from starving children. Jordan has reported that the cost of moving aid trucks has ballooned to $300 to $400 per vehicle, while settlers have attacked convoys with rocks and spikes, turning what should be a three-hour trip into a thirty-six-hour ordeal.
Weaponizing Starvation
The world knows the truth: famine is here, famine is man-made, and it is being weaponized.
UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and independent monitors have confirmed what Israel insists on denying. Gaza City has already been declared a famine zone, and the crisis is spreading rapidly into southern towns like Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. By September, the spread will engulf much of the territory.
This is not a natural disaster. This is engineered starvation.
The World Responds
The international response has grown louder as the crisis deepens. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called the famine a “human-made disaster.” The IPC has stressed that famine is reversible, but only if swift, large-scale humanitarian access is restored and a ceasefire is secured.
UN experts have urged the General Assembly to convene an emergency session to address famine and genocide in Gaza. Belgium has announced its intention to recognize Palestine at the United Nations, citing the humanitarian catastrophe, and is preparing to impose a package of sanctions on Israel.
At the same time, global activists are taking matters into their own hands. Greta Thunberg and others have joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest civilian flotilla in history, setting sail with food, medicine, and aid in defiance of Israel’s blockade.
The Truth Cannot Be Denied
To continue denying the famine while babies starve, aid is blocked, and NGOs are silenced is not only abhorrent, it is morally untenable. The world sees the truth. Famine is here, and it is being used as a weapon.
Humanitarian access must be restored, aid must flow freely, and the international community must act before Gaza is consumed entirely.
