WHO Warns Two Million People are Starving in Gaza

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that two million people in Gaza are starving. He blamed the worsening food crisis on the continued blockage of humanitarian aid. “Two months into the latest blockade, two million people are starving,” Tedros said. He highlighted that 160,000 metric tonnes of food sit just minutes from Gaza’s border, unable to enter.

Tedros spoke at the World Health Assembly’s opening session. He said the WHO and other UN agencies are ready to deliver food and medicine if allowed. “The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade,” he said.

He also warned that Gaza’s health system is collapsing. Increasing hostilities, evacuation orders, and restricted access have made conditions worse. “People are dying from preventable diseases as medicines wait at the border, while attacks on hospitals deny people care and deter them from seeking it,” he added.

Israel’s Stance and Limited Aid Access

Since March 2, Israel has enforced a full blockade on Gaza. The Israeli government says it aims to pressure Hamas through this strategy. However, on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to allow limited food aid, citing “diplomatic reasons.”

Since November 2023, WHO has helped evacuate over 7,300 patients from Gaza, including 617 cancer patients. Tedros noted that more than 10,000 patients still need urgent evacuation.

“We ask member states to accept more patients,” Tedros said. “We ask Israel to allow these evacuations and to allow urgently needed food and medicine to enter.”

He concluded, “WHO stands ready, with our UN partners, to move rapidly to deliver it if and when it is allowed to enter. I hope peace will prevail that can transcend generations. War is not the solution.”