The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that Gaza is experiencing the worst-case famine scenario, as outlined in this week’s alert from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The agency highlights a devastating humanitarian crisis, with people enduring prolonged food shortages and dying from starvation-related issues.

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“Dying of starvation is slow and painful,” the WHO warned. “A starving child may cry from pain until they are too weak to cry at all. Without urgent treatment, children suffering from acute malnutrition will not survive.”

Israel’s blockade on Gaza, which has been under Zionist military bombardment since October 2023, has led to this critical scenario.

Local hospitals said on Thursday that at least two more deaths from Israel’s forced starvation were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related fatalities since Israel’s war began to 159, including 90 children.

Dr Kahlil Daqran told Al Jazeera on Thursday that as supplies of baby formula run out, many mothers are often too malnourished to breastfeed their infants. “These children, their mothers also have malnutrition because there is no food, so the mothers cannot produce milk. Now, our children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza,” he added.

The United Nations has raised alarms about the heightened vulnerability of Palestinian children as hunger spreads across the coastal region. UN officials have consistently urged Israel to permit a continuous flow of aid supplies, which Tel Aviv’s regime has refused to concede.

Despite the escalating crisis, aid remains stalled. The WHO and other IPC partners intend to continue conducting field assessments. Humanitarian supplies from United Nations partners are currently stationed at Gaza’s borders, awaiting authorization to enter.

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