Rates of severe malnutrition among children aged under five at Médecins Sans Frontières’ Gaza City clinic have tripled in the last two weeks, the charity has said, as starvation in the Israeli-besieged strip worsens.

The global aid community has sounded the alarm as Gaza descends deeper into mass starvation, with resulting deaths being reported daily as Israel allows only a trickle of aid into the territory.

MSF said a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women it screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, with the number of people needing care for malnutrition at its Gaza City location quadrupling since May.

MSF is one of the largest medical providers in Gaza, with more than 1,000 staff in the strip providing medical services ranging from maternity care to emergency surgery.

The charity blamed what it called an Israeli “policy of starvation” for the hunger crisis, as global condemnation grows over what more than 100 aid groups say is Israel’s blockade of most aid into Gaza.

“Israeli authorities’ deliberate use of starvation as a weapon in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels, with patients and healthcare workers themselves now fighting to survive,” MSF said in a statement on Friday.

At least 122 people have died from starvation in Gaza, with nine more dying in the last 24 hours, according to health authorities.

The World Food Programme on Friday said nearly a third of people in Gaza were not eating for days, and that the hunger crisis had reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation”.

“Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the WFP said in a statement.

Naji al-Qurashali, an obstetrician-gynaecologist in Gaza, said statistics appeared to underestimate the true scale of the problem, estimating that 50% of the hundreds of pregnant women he saw each day were suffering from malnutrition.

“The malnutrition situation is unimaginable. Throughout my entire medical career, I never expected, not even in my wildest dreams, that things would reach this level,” said Qurashali.

Miscarriages had increased significantly among the patients he saw as mothers struggled to find food to feed themselves, he said. Those babies that were carried to term were significantly underweight and were increasingly born prematurely or with disfigurements.

Qurashali said he lacked many of the medical supplies necessary to treat the malnourished women. He and other doctors were forced to use unsanitary medical gloves and prescribe expired medication to patients.

“As a helpless doctor, it is an incredibly painful feeling,” he said. “Many times, I leave the hospital running, because I can’t bear the fact that I can’t meet even the simplest needs of these women.”

Medical experts have said that society’s most vulnerable, children and pregnant women, are the first to die in mass hunger events.

View image in fullscreen Desperate Palestinians wait to receive food distributed by a charity in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Israel has denied it is responsible for the hunger crisis in Gaza, with the foreign ministry calling it a “deliberate foreign ploy to defame Israel”, and blamed the UN for failing to distribute aid. The UN said it was operating as well as it could under Israeli restrictions, which prevent the UN-led aid system from using its 400 aid distribution points throughout the strip.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, accused the international community of sticking its head in the sand as Palestinians starved in Gaza, lambasting what he called a “lack of humanity”.

“This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience. We will continue to speak out at every opportunity,” Guterres said on Friday.

The leaders of the UK, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Friday that the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza “must end now” and called on the Israeli government to lift restrictions on aid.

“We firmly oppose all efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories,” the leaders said, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said late on Thursday that France would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly in September. The UK prime minister has come under pressure to do the same, with more than 100 MPs signing a letter demanding Keir Starmer follow suit.

Macron had previously urged the UK to recognise a Palestinian state alongside France and is expected to try to enlist other European countries to do the same. Starmer called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “unspeakable and indefensible” in a post on X on Thursday, but said nothing about recognising a Palestinian state.

Macron’s move was dismissed by Donald Trump, who was due to meet Starmer on Friday evening when he arrived in Scotland. The US president said of Macron on Friday: “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight. Here’s the good news: what he says doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change anything.”

Q&A Why is it so difficult to report on Gaza? Show Coverage of the war in Gaza is constrained by Israeli attacks on Palestinian journalists and a bar on international reporters entering the Gaza Strip to report independently on the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza since 7 October 2023, unless they are under Israeli military escort. Reporters who join these trips have no control over where they go, and other restrictions include a bar on speaking to Palestinians in Gaza. Palestinian journalists and media workers inside Gaza have paid a heavy price for their work reporting on the war, with over 180 killed since the conflict began. The committee to protect journalists has determined that at least 19 of them “were directly targeted by Israeli forces in killings which CPJ classifies as murders”. Foreign reporters based in Israel filed a legal petition seeking access to Gaza, but it was rejected by the supreme court on security grounds. Private lobbying by diplomats and public appeals by prominent journalists and media outlets have been ignored by the Israeli government. To ensure accurate reporting from Gaza given these restrictions, the Guardian works with trusted journalists on the ground; our visual​​ teams verif​y photo and videos from third parties; and we use clearly sourced data from organisations that have a track record of providing accurate information in Gaza during past conflicts, or during other conflicts or humanitarian crises. Emma Graham-Harrison, chief Middle East correspondent Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback.

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had agreed to let Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdrop aid into Gaza. Each flight carrying aid is far more expensive and holds fewer supplies than lorries do. Hamas described it as a political stunt.

“The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks to save what remains of the lives of besieged, starving civilians,” Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters.

Amal Masri, a 31-year-old mother in Gaza who is pregnant, said finding food was near impossible. The food she did find was unsuitable for her pregnant state, and if she ate it out of desperation, she vomited.

“Most of the time I am completely exhausted, my blood pressure is very low, and I often feel like I’m suffocating, like I’m on the verge of death,” Masri said.

Her husband, like many Palestinians, has been unsuccessful at getting food from the private US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites, and arrives home injured and empty-handed. More than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to get food at GHF or aid sites – the GHF denies any responsibility for shootings outside its distribution sites.

As the humanitarian situation declines, ceasefire negotiations appear to have collapsed. On Thursday, Israel and the US recalled their negotiators from Qatar, where talks were being held.

Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse, accusing it of not wanting to make a deal or give up Israeli hostages. The US president said he thought Hamas leaders would be “hunted down”.

Hamas officials denied they were responsible for the end of the round of peace talks, and accused Israel of stalling.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said: “What we have presented – with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation – we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one.”

Israel is pursuing an extensive PR effort to remove itself from blame for the starvation and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is responsible.

As dozens of governments, UN organisations and other international figures have detailed Israel’s culpability, officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel’s fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid.

The Israeli effort has continued even as one of its own government ministers, the far-right heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, appeared to describe an unapologetic policy of starvation, genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel has denied and said is not official policy.

Amid evidence of a growing number of deaths from starvation in Gaza, including many child deaths, and shocking images and accounts of malnutrition, Israel has tried to deflect blame for what has been described by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) as “man-made mass starvation”.

That view was endorsed in a joint statement this week by 28 countries – including the UK – which explicitly blamed Israel. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the statement said. “The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazan’s of human dignity.

View image in fullscreen Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity in Gaza City on Friday. Photograph: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters

“We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.”

Some Israeli officials have been marginally more cautious in public statements, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has promised vaguely that there “will be no starvation” in Gaza.

But a recent off-the-record briefing for journalists by a senior Israeli security official has pushed a more uncompromising position, stating that there “is no hunger in Gaza” and claiming that images of starving children on front pages around the world showed children with “underlying diseases”.

David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesperson, told Sky News this week: “There is no famine in Gaza – there is a famine of the truth.”

Contradicting that claim, Médecins Sans Frontières said a quarter of the young children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers it had screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, a day after the UN said one in five children in Gaza City were suffering from malnutrition.

Israel’s attempts to deflect blame, however, are undermined by its single and overarching responsibility: that as an occupying power in a conflict, it is legally obliged to ensure the provision of means of life for those under occupation.

And while Israel has consistently tried to blame Hamas for intercepting food aid, that claim has been undermined by a leaked US assessment, seen by Reuters, which found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group of US-funded humanitarian supplies.

Examining 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by US aid partner organisations between October 2023 and May 2025, it said it found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded supplies.

Israel has also recently intensified efforts to blame the UN for the problems with aid distribution, citing a “lack of cooperation from the international community and international organisations”. Israel’s claims are contradicted by clear evidence of its efforts to undermine aid distribution.

Despite international warnings of the humanitarian risks posed by banning Unrwa, the main UN agency for Palestinians and the organisation with the most experience in Gaza, from Israel, its operations were closed down, complicating aid efforts.

Instead Israel, backed by the US, has relied on the private, inexperienced and controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; its sites have been the focus of numerous mass killings of desperate Palestinians by Israeli soldiers.

Israel’s attempts to hamper with aid efforts have continued. Last week it said it would not renew the work visa of Jonathan Whittall, the most senior UN aid official in Gaza; and a UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters on Thursday that Israel had rejected eight of the 16 UN requests to transport humanitarian aid in Gaza the previous day.

He added that two other requests, initially approved, led to staff facing obstruction on the ground as he described a pattern of “bureaucratic, logistical, administrative and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities”.

All of which has injected a new sense of urgency into the catastrophe in Gaza as UN agencies warned that they were on the brink of running out of specialised food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children.

“Most malnutrition treatment supplies have been consumed and what is left at facilities will run out very soon if not replenished,” a WHO spokesperson said on Thursday.

More starvation deaths appear inevitable.

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As we speak, up to two million people in Gaza are being threatened with starvation, as the state of Israel, backed by the US government, continues to blockade humanitarian aid into Gaza, attack basic infrastructure, and brutally murder Palestinians at aid distribution sites. Moreover, Israeli officials continue to push for open ethnic-cleansing of Palestine, all with continued military support from the United States.

As Al-Jazeera reported:

Tonnes of food, clean water, medical supplies and other items sit untouched just outside Gaza as humanitarian organisations are blocked from accessing or delivering them by Israel. Ten new deaths linked to famine and malnutrition have been recorded during the past 24 hours by hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to the Ministry of Health. The grim count brings the total number of people starved to death in the territory to 111, the ministry’s statement said. In recent weeks, more than 1,000 desperate people have been killed trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near GHF distribution centres, according to the United Nations…Israel, which controls all supplies, food, medicine and fuel entering Gaza, has imposed a punishing blockade for months…Medical personnel and journalists continue to work under intensive duress, worsened by their own hunger.

Genocide and forced starvation of Palestinians is happening right before our eyes. As Mondoweiss recently reported, “Among the most affected are newborn children who have no means of feeding. Mothers are unable to breastfeed due to malnutrition, which makes it difficult to produce milk.” The Guardian also noted, “Rates of severe malnutrition among children aged under five at Médecins Sans Frontières’ Gaza City clinic have tripled in the last two weeks, the charity has said, as starvation in the Israeli-besieged strip worsens.”

Watching the news coming out of Gaza can make many feel powerless, but we all can help rally in solidarity with groups on the ground who are working non-stop to create life-lines with those living through the brutal occupation. Listed below, are direct ways that people can help mutual aid groups on the ground – both by donating to them and spreading the word about the work that they are doing. Donations and support are direct ways we can help those attempting to survive an active genocide. Mutual aid groups listed below also are posting constant updates about their work, showcasing how solidarity from across the world manifests in the creation of life-saving infrastructure and the meeting of direct needs.

Our hope is that people will take the initiative and organize benefit events and show solidarity with these mutual aid projects. By building up our capacity to extent material solidarity, we can all help those directly impacted.

The Sanabel Team

The Sanabel Team is “a Palestinian-led mutual aid team providing support in Gaza since 2018.” The group distributes cash aid, cooks hot meals which they distribute daily, brings in water trucks, distributes basic necessities like diapers and formula for infants, and works to provide items like tents and tarps to those displaced by the ongoing occupation. They post constant updates on their work on Instagram and are involved in a wide variety of projects in multiple areas.

About:

This team all started with Osama; an activist from Gaza that began in his small city of Khan Younis, helping families in need. These community-based efforts has expanded since 2018, serving thousands of Palestinians from funding education, feeding many families, and proving necessities over the years. Our mission is to continue providing direct aid that’s available on the ground, to families during this time. Funds will go towards necessities like food, water, and building materials for shelter when available. Life rebuilding will be in the next phase. We thank you for your ongoing support friends! Every day we remain steadfast, every action we take is a step towards a brighter future for the families we have been supporting in Gaza since 2018. Together, we create a ripple effect that nourishes not just bodies, but souls. Our commitment to making a difference in our community is unwavering.

Some 221 MPs from across different political parties have joined forces to call on the Government to recognise a Palestinian state.

The MPs urge the Government to take the step ahead of a United Nations conference in New York next week.

This follows France’s announcement on Thursday evening it will formally recognise Palestine at a UN summit in September.

The MPs’ letter, co-ordinated by Sarah Champion – Labour chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, said: “We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality.”

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Parliamentarians from Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents are among those who signed the letter.

Senior signatories include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury, the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh, Parliament’s longest-serving MP.

The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs.

Rotherham MP Ms Champion acknowledged “recognition alone will not end the suffering in Gaza or the rapid expansion of settlements and settler violence in the West Bank”.

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But she said it would be an important step on the path towards a two-state solution to end the war.

The Labour MP added: “Recognition would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people, that they are not alone and they need to maintain hope that there is a route that leads to lasting peace and security for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people.”

Ministers have faced growing calls to recognise a Palestinian state immediately amid mounting global anger over the starving population in Gaza.

Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday evening that such a move needed to be part of the “pathway” to peace in the Middle East, which he and allies are working towards.

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“That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace,” the Prime Minister said.

He added: “Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.

The PM also said: “The appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting.

“The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible.

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In a statement released on Friday alongside the leaders of France and Germany, the Prime Minister urged “all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire”.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Kin Cheung/PA)

Sir Keir, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also called for Israel to stop restricting the flow of aid into Gaza.

Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians “waste away”.

Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.

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As he left for Scotland on Friday, US President Donald Trump suggested that Mr Macron’s announcement that France would recognise Palestinian statehood was unimportant.

“What he says doesn’t matter”, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.

Sir Keir will meet the US president during his five-day private trip to Scotland, due to kick off on Friday.

US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington’s special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a “lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”.

Sarah Champion (UK Parliament)

The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

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Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.

Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed about 1,200 people.

Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between militants and civilians.

US President Donald Trump has said he is looking forward to meeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney.

The pair are expected to meet during the president’s four-day trip to Scotland, which is expected to begin on Friday evening.

Mr Trump will visit both of the golf clubs he owns in the country – Turnberry in South Ayrshire and Menie, near Aberdeen, in the coming days.

Before boarding the presidential plane Air Force One to fly to Scotland, he told journalists: “The Scottish leader is a good man, so I look forward to meeting him.”

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He also said he has a “lot of love” for Scotland.

The First Minister is set to meet the president during the trip (Jane Barlow/PA)

Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of the visit on Friday, Mr Swinney said the meeting will be “an opportunity to “essentially speak out for Scotland” on international issues such as Gaza, as well as trade and the increase of business from the United States in Scotland.

“There are clearly also significant international issues upon which the people of Scotland have a view and want to have that view expressed by their First Minister,” he said.

“That relates to the awfulness of the situation in Gaza and the unbearable human suffering that is going on in Gaza.

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“I want to make sure that those concerns and those views are expressed to the president of the United States.

“We have that opportunity, and I intend to take that opportunity to make sure that Scotland’s voice is heard.”

Mr Swinney also urged all of those set to protest against the president’s visit to do so “peacefully and to do so within the law”.