Wed Jul 23 16:40:07 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Gaza Faces Famine as Aid Deliveries Turn Deadly, UN Reports**
*Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip – July 23, 2025* – A severe humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with reports of widespread starvation and violence surrounding aid distribution. The UN human rights office has stated that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, primarily near aid sites managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-backed American contractor.
Local health officials say that Israeli strikes killed 25 people across Gaza on Tuesday. Gaza’s Health Ministry further reports that 101 people, including 80 children, have died from starvation in recent days. Aid groups warn that nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza’s population are going without food for days.
The UN World Food Programme describes the hunger crisis as reaching “new and astonishing levels of desperation”. MedGlobal, a charity working in Gaza, reported five children as young as three months old have died from starvation in the past three days.
The desperation is fueled by Israel’s blockade and nearly two-year offensive, which have created conditions ripe for famine. The UN has also reported a breakdown of law and order, leading to looting and chaos at aid deliveries. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, a charge Hamas denies and for which the evidence is debated.
The UN reports that 766 of the 1,054 people killed trying to get food since May were killed heading to GHF-run sites. Palestinian witnesses and health officials claim Israeli forces regularly fire on crowds at these sites, while the Israeli military maintains they only fire warning shots. The GHF asserts its armed contractors have only fired into the air to prevent stampedes.
A joint statement from 28 Western-aligned countries condemned the “inhumane killing of civilians” and the “drip feeding of aid,” calling Israel’s aid delivery model dangerous. Israel and the United States rejected the statement, blaming Hamas for prolonging the war by refusing ceasefire terms.
The conflict was sparked by an Oct 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants who abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200. Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, demands Israel has rejected.
First Piper 