By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories accusing Israel of deliberately starving millions and killing children in the besieged enclave.
Francesca Albanese made the stark denunciation on Sunday in response to reports that Mohammad al-Sawafiri, a disabled Palestinian, had died from hunger amid Israel’s tightened blockade. Writing on X, Albanese drew a grim historical parallel: “My generation was taught Nazism was the greatest evil; and it was; and colonial crimes should’ve not been omitted.”
She continued, “Today, a state (Israel) starving millions/shooting children for sport, shielded by democracies & dictators alike, is the new abyss of cruelty.”
Albanese concluded her statement with a haunting question that resonates across the international community: “How will we survive this??”
A “SILENT MASSACRE” OF STARVATION AND VIOLENCE
The Gaza Health Ministry said that 86 Palestinians have died from hunger and malnutrition since the blockade intensified, including 76 children. It described the ongoing siege as a “silent massacre,” with 18 people reportedly dying of starvation in the last 24 hours alone.
The ministry called urgently for the reopening of Gaza’s border crossings, warning: “The situation cannot be allowed to continue like this — lives are being lost every day due to a blockade that prevents food and medicine from reaching those in desperate need.”
Israel has sealed all crossings with Gaza since March 2, effectively cutting off the flow of humanitarian aid and accelerating famine.
Medical sources confirmed that at least 81 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured in new Israeli airstrikes on Sunday. Many victims were among those waiting for humanitarian aid, highlighting the deadly risks faced by civilians attempting to survive amid the blockade.
Since October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 58,895 Palestinians have been killed in what it describes as Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip. Hospitals have received 130 bodies in the last 24 hours, while nearly 500 people were injured, bringing the total injured to almost 141,000.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
AID BLOCKED DESPITE SUPPLIES WAITING AT BORDERS
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed children are dying of hunger before aid can reach them. Meanwhile, UNRWA reports that enough food to feed the entire Gaza Strip for three months is sitting in trucks just outside Gaza, barred from entry by Israel.
At least 115 people, including 92 seeking aid, were killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza on Sunday, with more than 200 wounded.
Medical sources described the scene at Al-Sudaniya, northwest of Gaza City, where 73 people were killed and over 100 injured after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid. Victims were transported to hospitals on carts and makeshift vehicles amid the collapse of medical infrastructure.
Two Palestinians were also killed near the Al-Shakoush aid distribution center in southern Gaza. Other strikes in northern Gaza killed three near the Sheikh Radwan water basin and three more in separate locations since dawn.
In addition to airstrikes, Israeli ground forces demolished multiple homes in eastern Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, while artillery shelled several areas and naval vessels fired on Palestinian fishermen off the southern Gaza coast.
[Photo: Palestinians mourn for their dear ones killed by Israeli bombings on the Zikim area in the northern Gaza Strip which left several people dead and injured, with the bodies brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza for funeral procedures, on July 20, 2025. Photojournalist: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/AA]
