ON account of funding cuts and Israeli cruelty, the threat of famine once again looms over the occupied Gaza Strip. The World Food Programme says it is reducing food assistance to Palestinians in the Strip due to funding shortages. The move will affect half a million people, many in dire need of food aid to survive. Prices of what little food is available have started climbing in the devastated Strip, while many bakeries have been shuttered. Also impacting the availability of food is Israel’s stranglehold on what enters Gaza. Under last year’s ceasefire deal, Israel had pledged to let in 600 aid trucks daily; only a fraction of that number actually arrives. It should be remembered that a famine had been declared in Gaza last year. The UN says that around two-thirds of Gaza’s people continue to face “acute food insecurity”. While Israel does all it can to stop aid from coming into the occupied territory, the Zionist state — similar to the barbarians of antiquity — has also destroyed Gaza’s food sources. The FAO says only 3pc of Gaza’s cropland “remains accessible and undamaged”, while the Strip’s fishing industry has also been destroyed.

Many in the international community remained silent as Gaza endured a genocide and manmade famine. It would be beyond criminal if its people are forced to live through another, entirely preventable famine. If there are financial constraints, then the world community — including those states that have armed and funded Israel — should open its coffers to fill the gaps in food aid. The US — both the Biden and Trump administrations — poured billions of dollars into Israel. It is now America’s moral duty to ensure food reaches Gaza. Moreover, many members of the Muslim world with deep pockets — who only paid lip service to Gaza — must step in and contribute to alleviating the region’s hunger. But most of all, Israel must be held to account for precipitating famine, destroying Gaza’s food sources, and starving the Palestinian people — a war crime under international law, even though the Zionist state is no stranger to committing such atrocious deeds. All obstacles standing in the way of aid reaching Gaza must be immediately lifted, and the Strip’s residents should get the nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation services they require.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026