Severe Starvation in Gaza as Israel Plans to Take Control
The people in Gaza are experiencing severe starvation, while Israel increases military action and threatens to seize full control of Gaza City. The deaths of Palestinians from famine and violence are increasing as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to take control of it.
Earlier in the war, Israel limited aid entering Gaza. They prevented food, water, and medicine from arriving at Gaza City from the beginning of March to mid-May this year. The lack of aid caused people to starve.
In late May, Israel let aid get into Gaza again from a US-Israeli group with strict rules on aid distribution. Since Palestinians were hungry, large crowds formed at aid sites, and occasionally, Israeli forces would shoot them.
Over 1,370 people were killed at aid sites, and approximately 200 others died from starvation. International aid groups said not enough aid is arriving at Gaza. Critics said Israel’s government is using aid as a weapon, but the Prime Minister said it’s “completely false”. As MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, Aitor Zavalgogoeazkoa, says, the “militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation.” Additionally, Chris Lockyear, the secretary-general of MSF, told BBC that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was a “death trap,” and the humanitarian issue in Gaza was “hanging on by a thread.”
Israel currently occupies around 75% of Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu says he wants to control the whole place. On Friday, August 8, 2025, Israel’s security cabinet accepted it, and although Israel’s military is against it, the Prime Minister says his plan is “the best way to end the war”. But the plan isn’t unanimous, as thousands of people in Israel, including some of the families of hostages imprisoned by Hamas, criticized plans for enlarging military action.
Numerous international leaders also opposed the plan, including members of the United Nations. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says, “The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world’s worst fears.”
The war began on Friday, October 7, 2022, after the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, attacked Israel. Consequently, it killed roughly 1,200 people and captured about 250. As a result, Israel sent soldiers to Gaza and has continued bombing the area since the start of the fight. The war has had horrible and perilous effects on everyone in Gaza.
Most of the Gaza residents were forced to move multiple times, and about 92% of the houses in Gaza were destroyed. Over 61,000 people in Gaza were killed, including over 18,000 children. Many of the people in Gaza are currently living in rough camps or temporary shelters.
SOURCES:
https://newsforkids.net/articles/2025/08/12/extreme-hunger-in-gaza-israel-threatens-to-take-gaza-city/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6ynz22871o