Children queue with pots to receive meals from a charity kitchen in Gaza City on July 14, 2025. Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP.
New York: The United Nations (UN) warned today, July 19, 2025, that mass food deprivation is becoming the norm in Gaza, pointing to the widespread prevalence of malnutrition and severe hunger among the population of the Strip, which is causing a daily number of deaths, especially among children and women.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that Israeli authorities had issued another evacuation order, this time for parts of northern Gaza, noting deeply worrying reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition in hospitals with limited resources to treat them.
He noted that the energy crisis continues to worsen despite the resumption of limited fuel imports, with fuel depletion forcing the suspension of solid waste collection over the past two days.
More water wells have also been shut down, particularly in Deir al-Balah.
He explained that specific health services, such as kidney dialysis, have been reduced or closed, and other services will also have to be terminated due to fuel shortages.
The limited fuel available is being allocated primarily to health, water, and communications services, as well as to operate vehicles.
He stressed that the movement of humanitarian aid within Gaza remains restricted, with only seven of 13 attempts to coordinate the movement of relief workers and supplies with the occupation having been facilitated.
In a related development, UN humanitarian workers reported that daily hostilities, preventable deaths, worsening fuel shortages, displacement, and despair are normalizing the collective deprivation of Gaza's population.
It's worth noting that food shortages have reached unprecedented levels in Gaza due to the strict closure imposed by the Israeli occupation on all crossings.
UN and international organizations have confirmed that famine has become a painful reality facing the Strip's residents, with the international community failing to act to save them.
