Gaza – Palestine
A new wave of famine threatens the Gaza Strip, where nearly two million besieged Palestinians are facing the approaching winter with little more than nutritionally empty calories.
Throughout the war, and under international pressure, aid trucks were allowed into Gaza, but their cargo often offered little nutritional value. This is what activists describe as “the engineering of famine.”
Not Just a Shortage of Food
The problem is no longer simply the quantity of food available, but also its nutritional quality.
Carbohydrates and sugary products — such as biscuits, soft drinks, and potato chips — are permitted to enter, temporarily suppressing hunger. Meanwhile, essential foods rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals remain restricted or scarce, including meat, eggs, fish, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and wheat flour.
The result is a population that can fill its stomachs without receiving adequate nutrition, fueling malnutrition, anemia, and disease.
Cutting Funding Instead of Completely Halting Aid
In October 2026, the “engineering of famine” did not end. Instead, it took a new form: reductions in funding and humanitarian assistance.
On October 19, 2026, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it had reduced its assistance by approximately one-third, bringing the number of beneficiaries down from 1.6 million to 1.1 million people.
This effectively deprived approximately 500,000 Palestinians of vital food assistance.
The WFP also announced:
▪️ A 50% reduction in food rations.
▪️ A reduction in daily hot meals from 250,000 to 150,000.
Documented Figures
In a statement marking World Food Day on October 16, 2026, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported:
▪️ 466 deaths attributed to malnutrition and starvation since 2024, including 157 children.
▪️ 158,001 cases of acute malnutrition among children under five, including 28,716 severe, life-threatening cases.
▪️ Anemia among pregnant women rose to 61% in 2026, compared with 41% before the war.
Restricted Crossings and a Deadly Winter
Despite the ceasefire agreement, Gaza’s Crossings and Borders Authority reported that only 148 trucks entered the territory on October 21, 2026, compared with the expected 600 trucks per day.
Restrictions continue to prevent the entry of vegetables, fruits, and wheat flour, leaving Palestinians trapped in a cycle of dependence on nutritionally empty calories.
As winter approaches, the humanitarian situation is becoming even more dangerous.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in its October 15, 2026 humanitarian situation report:
▪️ Approximately 950,000 displaced Palestinians are living in locations exposed to flooding risks.
▪️ More than 400,000 people face a high risk of flooding.
▪️ Available shelter supplies cover just 18% of households in need.
The combination of malnutrition, shrinking humanitarian assistance, restricted border crossings, and inadequate shelter threatens to deepen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe as winter approaches.