UN Warns Gaza Hunger Crisis Deepens as 85% of Enclave Restricted

United Nations agencies say Gaza is sliding deeper into a man-made hunger emergency as Israeli restrictions continue to block large-scale deliveries of food, fuel and medicine. UN Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya urged Israel to allow aid to enter “rapidly and without impediment,” while UNRWA reported that more than 82 percent of Gaza City is now subject to evacuation orders, leaving residents with nowhere safe to go.

The UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said 85 percent of the entire enclave is either under Israeli militarised control, displacement orders or both, severely limiting humanitarian access. UNRWA puts food-insecurity at over 95 percent and, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry data echoed by the WHO, at least 57 children have died from malnutrition since March. UNICEF recorded 5,119 cases of acute malnutrition among under-fives in May alone, and local hospital officials warn that 580 premature babies could die for lack of specialised formula.

Medical services are collapsing under a fuel embargo. The WHO said it had transferred its remaining 3,000 litres of fuel to al-Shifa Hospital on 2 July to keep critical units running but warned that no fuel has entered Gaza for more than 120 days and that essential services will stop without a continuous supply. The UN Population Fund added that the shortage threatens a total breakdown of humanitarian operations.

Aid distribution mechanisms endorsed by Israel are also under scrutiny. Norway’s Minister of International Development told Al Jazeera that using food as a weapon violates international law and called Israel’s current mechanism unfit. UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma described the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites as “degrading”, saying hungry civilians are forced to walk long distances only to face gunfire, and reiterated demands for UN-led deliveries at community level.

An Associated Press investigation, cited by multiple outlets, reported that American security contractors guarding GHF sites have fired live rounds, pepper spray and stun grenades at Palestinians seeking assistance and that the centres are being used to gather intelligence. The findings have intensified calls from UN agencies for multiple, secure entry points and unfettered access so that aid can be delivered directly and safely to Gaza’s most vulnerable populations.