UN Agencies Warn of Widespread Starvation in Gaza As Hunger Crisis Deepens
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Over a million Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of severe starvation by mid-July due to a worsening food crisis exacerbated by a lack of humanitarian aid and ongoing Israeli blockades, according to UN agencies.
More than a million Palestinians in Gaza are facing severe starvation by mid-July, according to warnings from UN agencies.
The hunger crisis in Gaza is worsening due to a lack of food and aid entering the Strip, compounded by Israel's continued blockade on humanitarian access.
“We can hardly find a loaf of bread and if available we eat just bread without any other food item,” said Gaza resident Saber Ahmad Sihweal.
“We don’t have an income and even then, there is nothing to buy. We cannot afford a decent meal. My children and I eat only a loaf of bread and only once a day.”
Sihweal, who lives with 11 family members in Beit Lahiya in the north, is struggling to keep his children alive despite escaping Israel’s frequent attacks.
“The fridge is completely empty, not even water. My children are starving to death. It’s now infested with insects and cockroaches. There is nothing at all. The pans are empty,” he added.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported that approximately 39,000 students are unable to sit Gaza’s General Secondary Examinations (Tawjihi), which were due to start today, due to the ongoing Israeli war.
Since the war began in October, around 625,000 students have been out of school, with schools and universities destroyed, and over 7,000 Palestinian students and 378 educational workers killed in Israeli attacks.
The UN stated that these high school students are being “deprived of the opportunity” to take their examinations.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education has arranged for 1,320 Gaza students outside the war-torn territory to take the Tawjihi exams in 29 Arab countries.