Gaza Enters ‘Death Phase’, Says UN as Hunger Reaches New Heights

by UN News

GAZA: The Gaza Strip has plunged into what the United Nations now calls its “death phase”, as starvation and desperation continue to claim civilian lives at a horrifying pace. UN staff themselves are fainting from hunger and exhaustion, unable to fulfil their duties in an enclave where food is scarcer than safety, and death stalks the hungry in queues for aid.

Speaking from Amman, Juliette Touma, Director of Communications at the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), issued an urgent warning on Tuesday: “Doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarians – including our own UNRWA staff – are fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties.” She added gravely, “Seeking food has become as deadly as the bombardments.”

Over the past several weeks, nearly 900 Palestinians have been killed trying to access food, according to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR). Of the 875 people confirmed dead as of July 13, a staggering 674 were killed near aid hubs run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a controversial initiative backed by the US and Israel. The remaining 201 were killed on or near UN and partner humanitarian convoys still attempting to deliver aid in a zone increasingly hostile to survival.

OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan, briefing journalists in Geneva, noted that GHF operations began on May 27 and have since bypassed the UN and established NGO aid structures, creating what UNRWA has called a “sadistic death trap.” He cited “multiple reliable sources on the ground,” including medical and humanitarian teams, who continue to verify the numbers under strict protocols.

On July 14, Israeli forces reportedly shelled and opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for food at a GHF site in the As Shakoush area of northwestern Rafah. Two people were killed, and at least nine more were injured in the attack. The wounded were taken to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital in Rafah, where more than 130 injured had already arrived that weekend — the “overwhelming majority” suffering gunshot wounds.

“These were people just trying to access food,” said Ms Touma. “Among them were starving children who were shot at on their way to pick up very little food.”

The siege on Gaza has tightened to the point where even basic humanitarian supplies are being withheld. “We’ve been banned from bringing any humanitarian assistance into Gaza for more than four months,” Ms. Touma said. UNRWA currently has 6,000 aid trucks packed with food, medicine, and hygiene supplies waiting in Egypt and Jordan. “From Jordan to Gaza is a three-hour drive,” she added. “Medicine and food will expire before they reach the people who need them.”

Conditions have spiralled so far that UNRWA workers now report babies dying from severe acute malnutrition and dehydration. Prices for staple goods have risen by over 4,000 per cent, with a single bag of flour reportedly costing US $200, and mothers cutting up old shirts to use as diapers.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), 25 per cent of Gaza’s population now faces famine-like conditions. Nearly 100,000 women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition. Yet despite repeated assurances from Israeli authorities, WFP convoys continue to come under attack. A July 20 incident left at least 67 Palestinians dead while they attempted to retrieve food from a 25-truck convoy that had just crossed the Zikim checkpoint in northern Gaza.

“We’re in the death phase,” one UNRWA staff member said. “Whether it’s bombs or hunger, children are dying in front of their parents’ eyes.”

Meanwhile, in central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah region, 50,000 to 80,000 people have been affected by a new Israeli evacuation order — the first in the area since the war began in October 2023. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this new order has further sliced Gaza into disconnected segments, rendering humanitarian logistics almost impossible. UN staff remain inside dozens of buildings in Deir Al-Balah, the coordinates of which have been shared with the warring parties. Yet the locations remain vulnerable to shelling and airstrikes.

The Israeli military’s attack on July 15 on a WHO guesthouse and warehouse in Deir Al-Balah further escalated concerns. Staff and their families, including children, were forced to flee under fire. Some were handcuffed and interrogated; one WHO staff member remains in Israeli detention without charge.

“This is not just a breakdown of the health system,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević. “It is a systematic dismantling.” WHO reported that 94 per cent of Gaza’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and half of the hospitals are no longer functioning. Since October 2023, over 1,500 healthcare workers have died.

Adding to the crisis, 58 foreign medical experts have been denied visas by Israeli authorities since the March breakdown of a ceasefire, severely limiting Gaza’s access to essential surgical and emergency care.

As Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe draws global scrutiny, violence in the occupied West Bank has also surged, according to OHCHR. Since Israel launched Operation “Iron Wall” in the northern West Bank, nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, hundreds of homes have been demolished, and incidents of extrajudicial killings have increased.

OHCHR cited the January 25 killing of two-year-old Laila Khatib, shot in the head inside her home in Jenin, and the July 3 killing of 61-year-old Walid Badir, who was cycling home from prayers near the Nur Shams refugee camp. Both were reportedly shot by Israeli security forces. These events reflect what the UN calls a “silent war” in the West Bank, now facing the largest Palestinian displacement since 1967.

“Bringing about permanent demographic change in occupied territory may amount to a war crime and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” said OHCHR’s Al-Kheetan.

With access to Gaza blocked, humanitarian operations shelled, journalists locked out, and millions trapped without food, water or medicine, UN officials reiterated their urgent plea: a ceasefire, safe humanitarian access, and accountability under international law.

“It is long overdue,” said Ms Touma. “Let international media in. Let aid in. Let Gaza live.”