**Dire Food Crisis in Gaza: One in Three Residents Go Days Without Meals, UN Reports**

**A recent United Nations report highlights a critical food crisis in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is experiencing severe food shortages, raising alarms over rising malnutrition rates and urgent health needs.**

 

Almost a third of Gaza’s population is reportedly going days without food, raising significant alarm about a growing humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme (WFP) has sounded the alarm, indicating that approximately 90,000 vulnerable women and children are in dire need of immediate medical intervention due to malnutrition. The situation has worsened over recent days—official reports state that nine additional individuals succumbed to malnutrition on Friday alone, resulting in a total of 122 such deaths since the onset of the conflict.

Israel, which maintains control over the flow of supplies into Gaza, denies any restrictions on the delivery of aid, placing the blame for the deteriorating conditions on Hamas. An Israeli security official revealed that airdrops of aid into Gaza might be approved shortly, although humanitarian agencies caution that this method of delivery is largely inefficient and fraught with complications. While local sources mentioned planned airdrop operations from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, a high-ranking Jordanian official indicated that military authorization from Israel was still pending.

The UN has criticized this proposed airdrop strategy as merely a "distraction to inaction" from the Israeli government, especially amidst a rising international outcry over the fragile humanitarian situation in Gaza. On Friday, key European nations—Germany, France, and the UK—issued joint statements demanding that Israel immediately remove barriers to aid supply to Gaza. The leaders of these nations also expressed their urgency for an end to the ongoing "humanitarian catastrophe" and the broader conflict.

In a recent address, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the international community for its "inaction" regarding Palestinian suffering in the region. He highlighted the tragic reality that more than 1,000 Palestinians have lost their lives while attempting to acquire essential food supplies since late May, coinciding with the operations of the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

One US security contractor associated with GHF, who worked during the early summer period, shared his testimony of the alarming conditions he witnessed, claiming to have seen significant violence and violations of human rights perpetrated against civilians by military forces. The GHF refuted his claims, labeling them as "categorically false" and attributing them to a former contractor who was dismissed for misconduct.

Meanwhile, exploration for a new ceasefire and the potential for a hostage release continues to be in limbo as the US and Israel have reportedly withdrawn their negotiation teams from talks in Qatar. In response to this stagnation, US President Donald Trump remarked that Hamas "didn't really want to make a deal," while Hamas officials expressed surprise at these claims, stressing that negotiations have not fully collapsed.

Since the conflict erupted following a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, during which approximately 1,200 individuals lost their lives and hundreds were taken hostage, the toll in Gaza has been staggering; the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports more than 59,000 fatalities. Israel enforced a total blockade on aid deliveries in early March, leading to a subsequent military offensive aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, resulting in a significant humanitarian emergency characterized by widespread displacement and destruction.