Gaza Faces Rising Deaths from Starvation, August Worst Month Yet

Rabat – Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported 13 deaths in the past 24 hours, including three children, due to starvation and malnutrition. This brings the total number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave to 361 people, 130 of them children.

In August alone, 185 people died from malnutrition, the Health Ministry said. This is the highest monthly figure since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began nearly two years ago. 

Seventy of these deaths occurred after the United Nations formally declared Gaza a man-made famine zone last month.

The ministry also reported that at least 76 Palestinians were killed and 281 injured due to Israeli attacks across Gaza over the course of just 24 hours.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 63,633 Palestinians and injured 160,914, according to the Health Ministry. Several reports estimate that the number of fatalities is much higher, as many remain unaccounted for.

Since May 27, when Israel introduced a purported “aid distribution system” through the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), 2,306 aid seekers have been killed and more than 16,929 aid-seeking Palestinians injured.

Witnesses and journalists on the ground reported that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have deliberately targeted aid seekers at GHF sites, often shooting at their heads and chests.

Meanwhile, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), which includes around 500 experts, officially stated that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide under international law. 

The resolution, supported by 86% of IAGS members, said Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza constitute genocide under the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.

The resolution called on Israel to immediately stop all acts that constitute genocide, including the killing of civilians, starvation, blocking humanitarian aid, depriving residents of water and fuel, sexual violence, and forced displacement.

The rising hunger-related deaths and continued attacks have triggered global condemnation, but it has fallen short of putting pressure on Israel to stop its genocide in Gaza.