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At least 113 people in Gaza have died from mass hunger since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday, as international organizations warn that the humanitarian catastrophe is deepening.
The latest figure includes two deaths in the past 24 hours, officials said. Among the dead are 81 children. The Health Ministry also reported more than 28,000 cases of malnutrition in Gaza, with over 5,000 cases recorded in July alone. The data could not be independently verified.
The figures come as the World Health Organization (WHO) this week described Gaza’s starvation as “man-made.”
“I don’t know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it is man-made and that is very clear… This is because of the blockade,” said WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a news briefing Wednesday.
He added that since July 17, all treatment centers for severe acute malnutrition in Gaza have been full and are running out of essential supplies.
Meanwhile, more than 100 aid organizations have issued a joint statement urging governments to act, saying they “must stop waiting for permission.”
“Humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,” the statement read. Warehouses both within and just outside Gaza are filled with “food, clean water, [and] medical supplies,” it said, but aid groups are blocked from accessing them.
“The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the statement added.
Israel, in response, has rejected blame. “In Gaza today, there’s no famine caused by Israel, there is a man-made shortage, it’s been engineered by Hamas,” said Israeli spokesperson David Mencer in an interview with Sky News.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) added in a statement to TIME: “Despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number…
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