‘Famine is here’: UN agency says Gaza has exhausted all food supplies
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has officially declared that it has completely run out of food supplies in Gaza after nearly eight weeks of an Israeli blockade that began on March 2, 2025. The WFP distributed its last stocks to community kitchens in Gaza, which are expected to exhaust their remaining food within days, leaving over 400,000 people who rely on UN-supplied meals with no aid.
This blockade has cut off all commercial and humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, and fuel, to the 2.1 million Palestinians living in Gaza. The prolonged closure has led to severe hunger, malnutrition, and famine conditions. Gaza’s Hamas government has declared that famine is no longer a looming threat but a current catastrophe, with thousands of families starving and unable to provide even one meal for their children. At least 52 people, mostly children, have died from starvation and malnutrition, and over a million children are going hungry daily.
The blockade has also caused the shutdown of 25 bakeries supported by the WFP due to lack of wheat flour and fuel, and food prices in Gaza markets have surged by 1,400 percent. Most fruits, vegetables, milk, and meat have disappeared from the markets, leaving charity kitchens as the primary source of food, though they too are running out of supplies.
Israel maintains that the blockade and military actions aim to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and denies the existence of a famine, accusing Hamas of diverting aid. However, the UN and humanitarian agencies emphasize the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding, calling for urgent reopening of border crossings to allow aid and trade to resume.
Gaza is facing a severe famine as the UN’s World Food Programme has exhausted all food supplies amid an ongoing Israeli blockade, leading to widespread starvation and malnutrition among the population.
