The Gaza Strip has historically been a place accustomed to guiding civilians through wartime. This history largely explains its very existence. This coastal area along the Mediterranean was designated as a sanctuary for Palestinians displaced from their homes by Jewish forces during the 1948 conflict that led to Israel’s formation. Nevertheless, Gaza’s long-term status, much like the destiny of the Palestinians, remained unresolved. As decades passed, the conflict persisted.
A destructive pattern characterized the situation. Palestinian combatants fired rockets into Israel from Gaza. Israel’s armed forces retaliated with aerial attacks, occasionally through prolonged operations referred to as wars. The lengthiest of these continued for 50 days. During every period of hostilities, civilians were aware of safe havens: schools, clinics, and hospitals managed by the U.N., which additionally provided them with food.
Almost all such infrastructure has been obliterated following Israel’s reaction to the brutal Hamas assault on Oct. 7, 2023—and not solely through bombings. In its campaign against a terrorist organization, Israel additionally dismantled civil frameworks that sustain a whole populace, concurrently undermining the U.N.
Profound Israeli skepticism towards the U.N. exists. The majority of its member states back the Palestinian aspiration for self-determination, and in 1949, the U.N. established the framework for such an entity. This was the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA. As its head, Philippe Lazzarini, remarked, “Israelis received a state. Palestinians received UNRWA.”
Employing 13,000 individuals, UNRWA served as Gaza’s primary employer. Subsequent to Oct. 7, Israel alleged that twelve of its staff members participated in the attack. (One was recorded on video placing a body into an SUV.) Claiming that UNRWA was infiltrated by Hamas to the same extent that Gaza was filled with tunnels, Israel severed ties with the agency in January. In March, with the collapse of a truce with Hamas, Israel halted assistance from all international humanitarian organizations—leading to the breakdown of a delicate yet expert aid system that had previously nourished 2.1 million inhabitants.
No provisions reached Gaza throughout March and April. By May, Israel announced its intention to manage aid distribution independently, via an entity named the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Aid organizations deplored that this initiative reduced food distribution locations from 400 to four, and concurrently, Israel initiated a significant new military operation.
Consequently, “the most severe famine scenario is materializing in Gaza,” as stated by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a collective of prominent aid organizations. The IPC functions essentially as the global monitor for hunger: humanitarian groups worldwide, from sub-Saharan Africa to the Middle East and elsewhere, rely on its assessments regarding the food requirements of populations affected by natural and human-caused disasters. Although it refrained from officially proclaiming a famine throughout the entire Strip, the alert served as the humanitarian sector’s equivalent of a grave emergency. This spurred worldwide sentiment. “That is genuine starvation,” remarked President Donald Trump, upon viewing televised images of emaciated children. “You cannot fabricate that.”
Such is the fundamental impact of widespread hunger. Its looming presence can swiftly redefine a conflict that has already claimed 60,000 lives and sparked intense international discussions on ethics, antisemitism, and the rules of warfare. When youngsters suffer from starvation, the adversary is hunger itself.
Addressing the Crisis
We understand the necessary actions. And undertaking them yields advantages beyond merely preserving lives. In Gaza, confronting starvation signifies honoring life rather than accepting violent demise as normal. The essence of a conflict that, spanning 21 months, seemed destined to be obscured by incessant debris now centers on tangible evidence—such as data found in a patient’s medical records, like magnesium and zinc concentrations, with electrolyte depletion being an early indicator of starvation. The body subsequently metabolizes fatty acids for energy, followed by proteins, and ultimately, cells.
Combating famine necessitates a coordinated effort, but not one suitable for a combat zone where, since May, over 1,000 Palestinians have perished en route to assistance. This type of mobilization demands not only a consistent provision of fundamental food items for those experiencing hunger, but also calorie-dense, nutrient-fortified pastes; specialized feeding facilities for individuals suffering from severe malnutrition; dedicated medical centers for expectant mothers; safe drinking water and hygiene systems to avert cholera—essentially, all the life-saving aid infrastructure that a concerned global community rapidly established in Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia, which are the only other locations where famine has been declared this century.
In Gaza, these efforts will largely re-establish the level of support that existed just two years prior. Not the physical constructions, but the cooperative aid frameworks that form the foundation of community life. This is precisely what Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, effectively Gaza’s Prime Minister, jeopardized when he orchestrated the Oct. 7 assault.
The subsequent action rests with Israel, a nation that, within recent memory, was recognized more for its innovative spirit than for its military prowess. This is the country that, utilizing drip irrigation, achieved the remarkable feat of cultivating crops in arid environments.