UN Accuses Israel of Blocking Food Aid, Worsening Gaza Hunger Crisis

Israel's blockade of Gaza has severely restricted food and humanitarian aid, leading to widespread starvation and dire conditions, with UN officials and humanitarian organizations condemning the tactic as a war crime. Despite limited allowance of aid trucks, bureaucratic and security hurdles have prevented the majority of supplies from reaching starving Palestinians, exacerbating the risk of famine and the collapse of medical services. The creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a politicized aid mechanism controlled by Israel and the US, has further obstructed impartial aid distribution, causing chaos and inequity in relief efforts and forcing Palestinians to relocate to areas sanctioned by Israel to access essential resources. Israeli forces' lethal response to crowds seeking aid at distribution centers, such as the killing of at least five Palestinians in Rafah, has been described as a deliberate massacre and war crime amid the ongoing siege. Canadian and other international humanitarian groups have called for urgent action to reject Israel's politicized aid approach, emphasizing that the denial of timely aid is a deliberate strategy causing preventable deaths, especially among children. The international community faces mounting pressure to intervene and prevent further humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.