At least 122 Palestinians have died due to starvation and malnutrition-related symptoms since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, with most of those deaths occurring in the last few months.
Since March, Israel implemented a complete siege on Gaza and obstructed aid from entering the enclave, despite trucks full of urgent assistance waiting at the border and at land crossings.
The result has been catastrophic for Gaza’s population, the majority of which is internally displaced, with a significant portion having been displaced at least 10 times.
In recent days, images have circulated of emaciated-looking children, as Israel continues to heavily bombard and starve the enclave.
The mass starvation has prompted over 100 humanitarian groups to make an urgent plea to allow life-saving aid into Gaza, as waterborne diseases also spread, and healthcare facilities continue to collapse.
The New Arab answers key questions on the current humanitarian situation in Gaza and how civilians have been affected.
How bad is starvation in Gaza currently?
Gaza has in recent days reached new levels of starvation, with a third of the population not having had anything to eat for several days in a row, a UN World Food Programme official said this week.
A quarter of the population is facing famine-like conditions, with doctors noting that due to the severity of the situation, Palestinians are too weak to donate blood and women are unable to breastfeed their babies.
US-based doctor Mimi Syed, who volunteered in Gaza in December, told The New Arab that the signs of starvation already visible during her time there.
"Things then weren’t as severe as what we’re seeing now. I worked in the paediatric emergency department at Al-Aqsa Hospital and mothers were feeding their baby’s sugar water because there was no formula," she said.
Pre-term infants are struggling to survive due to the conditions and a lack of formula milk.
"The situation now is exponentially worse and at a much higher degree than December. It is affecting healthcare workers, with many of them emaciated and many of them are passing out while speaking to patients," Syed added.
As the situation spirals rapidly, Syed says that a key priority in Gaza is a permanent and sustained ceasefire, followed by unlimited aid entry.
Her comments come against a mounting backdrop of scathing criticism targeted at the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid distribution centres have seen the killings over over 1,000 Palestinians since they began operations in May.
Military-trained contractors working at the sites have opened fire at desperate civilians and caused fatal suffocation by using tear gas in small and densely packed areas.
The GHF has been labelled by many rights group as a "death trap" that drip feeds aid to civilians in a military zone, without proper crowd management.
Experts also note that only the fittest can go to the locations, while those disabled, ill, too weak or elderly are unable to collect any.
What is phase 5 of famine, and has Gaza reached this point?
World Peace Foundation executive director Alex de Waal, an author and expert on famine, says that it is currently difficult to state clearly if Gaza has reached Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) level five of famine, due to Israel not allowing data collection.
Determining what stage of famine Gaza is at is also difficult due to social breakdown and Israel’s continued bombardment, which has made it impossible to collect and interpret data.
"We're at the point where any experienced humanitarian worker can diagnose famine by its physical and societal visible symptoms, without having to process the data. What's happening in terms of social breakdown and dehumanisation is unmistakably famine," de Waal explained to The New Arab.
To survive, Palestinians have been drinking salt water, sugar water or tiny amounts of oil.
Syed said, citing colleagues working in Gaza, that those who are able to get food in Gaza are consuming just 200 calories a day – a level which she says is unsustainable.
Speaking to The New Arab, Mohammed Alkhatib, Medical Aid for Palestinian's Deputy Director of Programmes in south Gaza, said: "So far, no therapeutic supplements for malnutrition cases have been allowed in... people with disabilities, too, are being left with no access to tailored nutrition support".
Professor Nick Maynard, a British surgeon who volunteered with Medical Aid for Palestinians in Gaza in June and July 2025, also said the situation is far worse now than a year ago.
"I have seen a seven-month-old who looked like a newborn. The expression ‘skin and bones’ doesn't do it justice. We have almost no liquid or intravenous feeds – children are being given essentially 10% sugar water, which is not proper nutritional support".
"I had tears in my eyes seeing how unbelievably thin these children are. Another international doctor here, who tried to bring formula feed in, had it confiscated by Israeli authorities at the border. The enforced malnutrition and attacks on civilians we are witnessing will kill many more thousands of people if not stopped," he continued.
What happens to a body that is being starved?
Starvation ravages a body over time and can cause significant damage to organs.
According to De Waal, when a someone is at the point of starvation, their body consumes its fat, internal organs, and the cognition eventually becomes dull.
The first sign is weight loss, which is followed by a lack of strength, anaemia and breathlessness.
"Some people become crazed," he explained, adding "the numbers of those counted as officially dead from malnutrition is always an undercount of the real death toll. Malnourished children are carried away by infectious diseases, respiratory infections or diarrheal diseases that their weakened bodies cannot withstand".
Children have been some of the hardest hit by Israel’s blockade on essential food items. The continued starvation can lead to stunted growth and in some cases, their face, stomach and legs can swell in a condition known as Kwashiorkor.
Over time, in a malnourished body, the immune system ceases to work making people immune to easily preventable diseases and infections.
Is the damage to bodies reversible?
In any location where famine is rampant, the effect is not just on the body but social, too.
In Gaza, experts have highlighted that this is apparent in the humiliation, degradation and trauma of civilians, which will remain for generations to come.
De Waal emphasised that for children, malnutrition is a lifelong sentence and can have generational impacts.
"Those who undergo starvation when they are very young, if they recover, still face physical and cognitive deficits. Even the children of girls who have been malnourished will face some deficits," he explained.
According to Dr Syed, due to the prolonged starvation campaign carried out by Israel, the solution is not as simple as suddenly giving people food.
"We know about re-feeding syndrome, the Israeli government knows this well, and we saw this during the Holocaust. It’s when you suddenly give someone who has been starved for a long period food without monitoring them. It can result in electrolyte imbalances leading to cardiac arrhythmia, which can be fatal," she said.
Syed said that this is currently happening with babies in Gaza, where they were suddenly fed, which has caused damage to their bodies.
Experts have demanded that Israel allow aid into Gaza and reinstates UN institutions such as UNRWA and UNICEF to manage the distribution of the aid.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 59,676 Palestinians since October 2023, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry. The true death toll is believed to be much higher, with thousands of uncounted victims trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.