‘It’s better to die from a bomb’: Gazans’ testimony, data depict desperate hunger in Strip

Data compiled by the United Nations illustrates the depth of the hunger crisis plaguing the Gaza Strip, showing soaring malnutrition rates even before concern of worsening famine skyrocketed this week, with reports of unprecedented starvation and the emergence of images of emaciated children.

According to a mid-July report from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the number of patients treated for malnutrition in a Gaza City clinic run by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, has tripled between May and July — from 293 cases in May to 983 in July.

By contrast, during the temporary ceasefire earlier this year, there was a noticeable drop in the number of children receiving malnutrition treatment.

A March UN report showed that the monthly average fell from approximately 5,000 children to 2,500 during the initial phase of the truce, attributed to improved food access.

“This is the first time we have witnessed such a severe scale of malnutrition cases in Gaza,” MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in the Strip is quoted as saying in the report.

Many of OCHA’s figures were gathered by UN-affiliated organizations specializing in nutrition, although the world body has declined to specify their names.

Clinics in both Gaza City and the Al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza are now treating more than 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children suffering from malnutrition, according to the OCHA report.

The findings were published on July 16, several days before Gaza-based figures began ringing alarm bells about what they say is “unprecedented” starvation in the Strip, with Israel blamed for preventing aid from reaching the Strip’s civilian population.

Unlike other widely published accounts, the OCHA findings have not been widely reported or echoed by Hamas or the Gaza health ministry, which is controlled by the terror group.

Israel on Tuesday denied the allegations that a famine was taking place in Gaza, while accusing UN-backed bodies of not collecting and distributing food and supplies it said had been allowed into the Strip.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories stated that nearly 1,000 aid trucks had been transferred to the Gaza side of the border crossings and were awaiting pickup by international organizations.

The UN blames Israel for failing to authorize access to the crossings and for preventing the trucks from being moved into warehouses and ultimately distributed to the population.

The data showing an increase in cases of malnutrition goes back several months.

As early as May, UN figures already showed an upward trend in malnutrition. That month, 2,733 children under the age of 5 — or 5.8 percent of the 47,783 screened — were diagnosed with malnutrition, compared to 4.7% (2,917 out of 49,527) in the first half of the month.

The trend aligns with updates from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which reported Tuesday that 101 people — including 80 children — have died from hunger since the start of the war, 19 of them in the past 24 hours alone. These figures cannot be independently verified.

In recent days, photos and videos widely circulated online show children and adults in Gaza appearing severely emaciated and suffering from extreme malnutrition.

‘Dying for a bite’

Local testimonies paint a grim picture. A resident of Deir al-Balah, who asked to remain anonymous for safety, told The Times of Israel over WhatsApp: “We go to bed hungry, wake up hungry and spend the whole day hungry.”

“I never imagined we’d face days like this. There’s barely enough for breakfast,” for a family, he said. “Most vegetables are unavailable, and we haven’t seen fruit or sugar for months. People here say it’s better to die from a bomb than from hunger — when you’re bombed, you die once. Hunger kills you several times a day.”

The sharp decline in aid deliveries has also sent food prices soaring. For over a year, Israel has permitted humanitarian aid to enter Gaza only through NGOs, cutting off supply chains to private merchants. But food still appears in markets, apparently consisting of aid stolen by looters.

In April, the World Food Programme reported that food prices in Gaza’s markets had jumped by 1,400% compared to prices during the second ceasefire in January and February. Gazans now say prices have risen even further, though Israel ended a freeze on goods entering the Strip over two months ago.

Anas Arafat, a resident of Gaza City, told The Times of Israel over the phone: “Right now, we have no food — not for me, my wife, or our three kids. We haven’t had any income in two years. My youngest son Ibrahim was born during the war — my wife gave birth at home — and since he was born, he hasn’t tasted a single piece of fruit or vegetable because we simply can’t afford them.”

The Deir al-Balah resident said flour cost him NIS 100 for a kilo (approximately $13.60 a pound), but Arafat cited a price double that in Gaza City.

“Vegetables are the same,” he said. “Before the war, $100 could feed a family for a week or two — now it’s not enough for even a week, and it’s not just about the money. Even if you have $100 but there’s no flour in the market, it’s worth nothing.”

Another resident from western Gaza City, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety, told The Times of Israel over the phone that he had “no choice” but to pay the exorbitant prices in the market.

“I’m not willing to endanger myself or my kids and run to aid trucks. What can I do?” he asked.

He said prices for cucumbers could run as high as NIS 70 per kilo, or $9.50 per pound. Flour prices fluctuate depending on the amount of aid that enters Gaza on trucks.

“If many trucks arrive and are looted, the price at the market drops,” he said. “If not, the prices go up like the stock market.”

“Some people can afford to buy. Others don’t even have NIS 20. Not everyone can buy. That’s why people are stealing. That’s why they’re dying. There’s no food.”

Unclear if aid is reaching the population

While international NGOs and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation report aid deliveries since the collapse of the ceasefire, there is little data showing that the food is reaching ordinary civilians.

A dispute between the UN and Israel over responsibility for the aid bottleneck has been ongoing since the beginning of the war, but tensions have escalated in recent weeks. The UN accuses Israel of blocking the trucks that would collect the stockpiling aid, while COGAT claims that 950 trucks are currently waiting at the border to be picked up by humanitarian organizations.

On Sunday, the World Central Kitchen organization announced that it had run out of all the supplies stored in its warehouses, and that its trucks carrying additional aid were, according to them, stuck at the Gaza border. As a result, WCK was forced to halt operations at its kitchens across the Strip, where hot meals are prepared and distributed to residents.

In a statement Monday, OCHA said: “Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and by other humanitarian organizations.”

In practice, Israel controls the approval process for cross-border access and sets the routes that aid trucks are allowed to travel within Gaza. Humanitarian organizations won’t operate when conditions fail to provide sufficient protection for their staff members or civilians accessing aid.

Following a deadly incident in northern Gaza in which dozens were reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire while crowding around aid trucks, the World Food Programme stated: “Today’s violent incident comes despite assurances from Israeli authorities that humanitarian operational conditions would improve; including that armed forces will not be present nor engage at any stage along humanitarian convoy routes.”

Responding to the reports, the IDF said it had fired “warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to the troops” in northern Gaza, but denied the steep death toll, insisting that the “reported number of casualties does not align with the existing information.”

Regarding the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the organization reports daily figures on aid distribution, claiming on Tuesday that it delivered over 87 million meals to Gaza residents and is currently distributing 2 million meals per day.

However, those numbers are based on the distribution of dry food items — which require gas and water for preparation, both of which are also in short supply.

There is no independent verification of these figures, and the GHF does not operate a formal registration or rationing system. Eyewitnesses and videos from distribution points describe chaos and looting.

As a result, it remains unclear whether the millions of reported meals are reaching a majority — or even a significant portion — of the population. Moreover, the GHF’s distribution centers are located in areas under Israeli control, far from densely populated zones, making access even more difficult.