More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population is estimated to be crammed into less than a fifth of the besieged territory, Oxfam reported. A food survey by aid agencies in May found that 85 percent of children did not eat for a whole day at least once in the three days preceding the survey.
Palestinians displaced by the Gaza war are enduring “appalling” conditions, with children sometimes going an entire day without food and thousands sharing the same toilet, Oxfam warned on Tuesday. Recent deadly Israeli bombardment and fighting in the Gaza Strip’s far-southern Rafah area near the Egyptian border have again displaced those seeking safety there. According to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, more than one million people have fled Rafah for other areas.
Oxfam noted that despite Israeli assurances of full support for those fleeing, most of Gaza has been deprived of humanitarian aid as famine looms. Since Israeli troops launched their ground assault on Rafah on May 6, an average of eight aid trucks per day have entered Gaza, according to UN figures. While hundreds of commercial food trucks enter daily, they often carry non-nutritious and expensive items like energy drinks, chocolate, and cookies.
Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa director, emphasized the urgency, stating, “By the time a famine is declared, it will be too late. Obstructing tons of food for a malnourished population while allowing in caffeine-laced drinks and chocolate is sickening.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a recent interview with French television, denied allegations of starvation in Gaza, claiming that Gazans were consuming 3,200 calories a day, which he said was 1,000 more than the daily requirement.
Oxfam reported dire conditions in some parts of southern Gaza, such as the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, designated a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli army. Families there are surviving with barely any water or sanitation services, with 4,130 people sharing each toilet. Meera, an Oxfam staff member in Al-Mawasi, described the situation as “unbearable,” noting the lack of access to clean water, forcing people to rely on the sea.
Additionally, a sewage flood occurred on Monday in a displaced camp in Khan Yunis after a wastewater pipe burst, further worsening conditions.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, resulting in 1,194 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, with 120 still in Gaza, including 41 whom the army says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,550 people in Gaza, predominantly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
