Israel’s deliberate starvation tactics have killed at least 66 Gazan children through malnutrition as Trump administration funds controversial aid organization accused of facilitating genocide.
Key Takeaways
- At least 66 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza due to Israel’s tightening blockade, with over 5,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition in June alone
- Gaza officials have condemned the blockade as a “war crime,” accusing Israel of deliberately using starvation as a weapon against civilians
- UNICEF reports 112 children are being admitted daily for malnutrition treatment, a 150% increase since February
- The Trump administration has allocated $30 million to the controversial “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” which humanitarian organizations have criticized for violating aid principles
- Israeli military operations have killed hundreds of civilians at aid distribution points, with Israeli Finance Minister openly discussing plans for Gaza’s “entire destruction”
Children Starving Under Israel’s Blockade
The Gaza Strip is facing a catastrophic child malnutrition crisis that has claimed at least 66 young lives, according to multiple reports. This humanitarian disaster stems directly from Israel’s intensifying blockade that prevents essential food, medicine, and baby formula from reaching Gaza’s civilian population. Officials from Gaza’s Government Media Office have explicitly labeled Israel’s actions as “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon to exterminate civilians.” The situation has deteriorated rapidly in 2025, with malnutrition cases that were virtually nonexistent 20 months ago now overwhelming Gaza’s collapsed healthcare system.
UNICEF Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder has provided alarming statistics on the crisis. “In just 150 days, from the start of the year until the end of May, 16,736 children—an average of 112 children a day—have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip. Every one of these cases is preventable. The food, water, and nutrition treatments they desperately need are being blocked from reaching them. Man-made decisions that are costing lives,” said Beigbeder.
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Controversial “Humanitarian” Operations Under Fire
The Israeli military has established the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (GHF) to control aid distribution, but humanitarian organizations have condemned the operation. The Trump administration recently committed $30 million to fund this organization despite serious ethical concerns. Distribution points managed by the GHF have become scenes of violence, with Israeli troops reportedly killing over 550 civilians seeking food aid. These operations appear to align with statements from Israeli officials about permanently altering Gaza’s demographic makeup.
“Within a year … Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to … the south to a humanitarian zone … and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” stated Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, revealing what critics call a deliberate plan for ethnic cleansing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the violence at aid distribution points, stating: “It is killing people. … People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence.” Chris Doyle from the Council for Arab-British Understanding has specifically criticized the GHF’s aid distribution model as fundamentally violating humanitarian principles while failing to meet Gaza’s desperate needs.
Medical System Collapse Amplifies Crisis
Gaza’s healthcare system has buckled under the weight of the crisis, with facilities damaged by bombardment and critical shortages of everything from medicines to fuel. Dr. Marwan Al-Hams reports that “56 percent of pregnant women in the sector suffer from malnutrition” and that hospitals have “limited quantities of supplies arriving, used only to save lives, with no strategic reserves in hospitals.” The malnutrition crisis has especially devastating effects on the most vulnerable – infants, young children, and pregnant women.
“This conduct constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity, and reveals the deliberate use by the Israeli occupation of starvation as a weapon to exterminate civilians, particularly children, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions,” stated The Government Media Office in Gaza in an official release.
The statistics paint a grim picture of deteriorating conditions. In June alone, over 5,000 children aged 6 months to 5 years were diagnosed with malnutrition, representing a 50% increase from April and a shocking 150% increase from February. Among these cases, 636 children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), requiring intensive medical intervention that Gaza’s healthcare system cannot provide under current conditions. Meanwhile, Israeli military operations have intensified, with at least 60 Palestinians killed in recent attacks, including 20 in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood.
