GAZA, (PIC)
The Director-General of the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Dr Munir Al-Bursh, announced on Thursday that 91% of the population in Gaza is suffering from a “food crisis” as a result of the ongoing Israeli blockade and the closure of crossings preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and goods since 2 March.
In a press statement, Al-Bursh said, “Gaza is experiencing a horrific humanitarian tragedy combining hunger, poverty, and disease as a result of the ongoing genocide and Israel’s suffocating siege through the complete closure of crossings and the prevention of aid deliveries.”
He further noted that “65% of Gaza’s residents do not have access to clean drinking water, and approximately 92% of children and breastfeeding mothers are suffering from acute nutritional deficiencies, posing a direct threat to their survival and development.”
He warned that “the Gaza Strip is witnessing a total collapse across all sectors due to Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
Al-Bursh called on the United Nations to “officially declare a state of famine in the Gaza Strip,” stressing that “field indicators and medical and humanitarian data confirm that international famine conditions have been met.”
He also urged the international community to “urgently intervene to support the health and food sectors and to rescue the population from the catastrophe resulting from the ongoing genocide and blockade.”
The Government Media Office in Gaza also declared on Thursday that the Strip has entered an “advanced stage of famine” due to the Israeli siege.
Ismail Al-Thawabteh, Director-General of the Office, told Anadolu Agency that “the Israeli occupation has imposed a total closure on Gaza’s crossings for more than two months.”
Similarly, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic,” stating that two million people in the Strip are suffering from hunger.
Tedros added that the WHO is facing historic funding challenges as donor states reduce their contributions.
In early March 2025, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel expired, which had been in effect since 19 January. However, Israel reneged on the agreement and resumed its genocidal war on 18 March.
Since 2 March, Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed to food, humanitarian, and medical aid, leading to a dramatic deterioration in the humanitarian situation, as confirmed by governmental, human rights, and international reports.
The 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza now rely entirely on humanitarian assistance after nearly 19 months of continuous genocide left the majority impoverished, according to World Bank data.
This humanitarian catastrophe comes alongside the displacement of more than 90% of Gaza’s population, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, now living in overcrowded shelters or exposed in the open air, exacerbating the spread of diseases and epidemics.
With overt American backing, Israel has, since 7 October 2023, been committing acts of genocide in Gaza, resulting in over 170,000 Palestinian casualties — most of them children and women — and more than 11,000 missing, amid widespread devastation.
