More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 48 hours while searching for food, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which says conditions now resemble a full-blown famine.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)says people are dying in food lines and near aid distribution points controlled by Israeli forces, as humanitarian access remains limited and erratic despite public promises of tactical pauses. “This is not how people should live,” OCHA said in a statement on Friday. “No one should ever be forced to risk their life just to find food.”
The warning comes as food, water, medicine, and shelter remain scarce across Gaza. More than nine months of bombardment, siege, and aid blockades have destroyed essential infrastructure. Families, including infants and children, are starving while exposed to shelling and displacement.
Ted Chaiban, a senior UNICEF official who spent five days in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, described the situation as “inhumane.”
“Gaza now faces a grave risk of famine,” Chaiban said during a briefing in New York. “Two key indicators have already passed the famine threshold. Hunger is visible in the eyes and bodies of children.”
The UN says one in three people in Gaza currently goes days without food. Many are forced to rely on contaminated water, worsening disease outbreaks. Aid trucks that do make it into Gaza are often delayed, rerouted, or blocked entirely. The UN says the danger along delivery routes especially near militarized checkpoints and convoy corridors has not eased since Israel’s announcement to expand access.
Chaiban visited a UNICEF-supported nutrition clinic in Deir Al-Balah, where he met families of children killed in a recent Israeli airstrike. Ten children were killed and 19 others injured while waiting in line for food with their parents.
“These children were not victims of an earthquake or flood,” Chaiban said. “They were starved, bombed, and displaced. That is a direct result of human decisions.”
UN agencies stress that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can only be addressed by opening land crossings for unrestricted aid and allowing the entry of commercial goods. OCHA confirmed that despite Israel’s recent pledge to scale up aid and permit safe passage for convoys, the results have fallen short.
“Civilians must be protected. Aid must be allowed to reach people at scale. That means removing obstacles, not adding new ones,” OCHA said.
The UN has repeatedly called for safe access, citing reports of civilians being shot at or struck while collecting food, water, or medicine. Many of the casualties in recent weeks have occurred at or near aid lines.
Chaiban said UNICEF has urged Israeli officials to reevaluate military engagement rules and reduce harm to civilians, particularly children. “Children should not be dying at food centers or water points,” he said. “People should not be so desperate they’re forced to rush trucks carrying food. That’s a sign of collapse.”
More than 18,000 children have been killed since the war began in October 2023, according to updated UN figures. The daily average 28 child deaths equals the size of a classroom, Chaiban noted. “What is happening on the ground is inhumane,” he said. “We need a ceasefire that holds and a political solution that stops this suffering.”
As Gaza slides deeper into crisis, aid agencies warn that time is running out not just for humanitarian intervention, but for the lives of hundreds of thousands depending on it.
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