By Rahim Abdul

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has entered an even more horrifying phase as hunger continues to claim lives at an alarming rate.

Health officials in the besieged enclave now say at least 197 people  including 96 children  have died due to hunger and malnutrition, a figure that underscores the deepening crisis resulting from Israel’s prolonged blockade and limited humanitarian access.

Among the latest fatalities are two children who died on Thursday in Gaza City’s overwhelmed hospitals.

Medical personnel, already working in understaffed and under-resourced facilities, are now forced to watch children waste away from hunger as they struggle to treat severe cases of malnutrition without adequate supplies.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the situation is escalating rapidly. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that over 12,000 children under five in Gaza were suffering from acute malnutrition as of July  the highest number ever recorded in a single month in the region.

“Without immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access, these numbers will rise further, and thousands more children could die in the coming weeks,” Tedros warned during a press briefing in Geneva.

In recent weeks, the desperation for food has pushed Gazans to risk their lives for aid airdrops, many of which land in unsafe zones riddled with unexploded ordnance or in areas still under sporadic bombardment.

The chaos surrounding these drops often leads to stampedes, injuries, and even death.

Humanitarian aid, coordinated largely through the Gaza Humanitarian Front (GHF), has been sporadic and insufficient. Reports suggest that some aid hubs have turned into danger zones, as desperate crowds gather without any organized distribution, and food supplies are frequently looted before reaching the most vulnerable.

Human rights groups and some UN officials are increasingly accusing Israel of using famine as a weapon of war.

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has warned that the blockade, coupled with targeted attacks on food infrastructure and distribution routes, constitutes a form of collective punishment.

Israel, for its part, has denied restricting humanitarian access and says it is targeting Hamas positions and weapons caches. But with critical border crossings often closed or severely restricted, and aid convoys stuck for days awaiting inspection, the civilian population is paying the highest price.