INTERNATIONAL – Medical personnel in Gaza are collapsing from hunger while continuing to care for severely malnourished patients, according to the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Hospitals and clinics are running on fumes, with health-care workers surviving on a single meal every two days. MSF Executive Director Avril Benoît described conditions as “catastrophic,” warning that even medical staff are fainting from weakness while treating the emaciated and injured.
MSF’s recent survey reveals one in four patients, particularly pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children—suffer from malnutrition, with many admitted patients unable to access adequate nutrition. NGO teams report emergency wards inundated with patients who are collapsing from starvation, compounding the ongoing crisis stemming from conflict injuries and infrastructure breakdowns.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has declared Gaza is entering a “worst-case scenario of famine,” with multiple thresholds for starvation, acute malnutrition, and mortality already surpassed—especially in Northern Gaza and Gaza City. As of late July 2025, more than 147 deaths have been attributed to hunger, including 88 children.
Health facilities themselves are collapsing under strain. UNICEF and MSF report a tripling of severe malnutrition cases in under-five children over just two weeks, with about 5,000 children per week requiring urgent care. Even hospitals’ neonatal wards and maternity units lack baby formula and basic food supplies, drastically affecting infant survival rates.
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Save the Children has also issued alarm: at their crowded clinics in Deir Al‑Balah, every single adult and child seen was severely malnourished, and the numbers for early July matched all malnourished cases logged in June—with numbers rising rapidly.
The blockade and restrictions on humanitarian aid runs deep. Over 100 aid agencies have declared the crisis a man-made famine, criticising Israel’s tightening of land routes and fuel shortages that cripple medical and food supply chains.
While Israel recently announced new tactical pauses and aid airdrops, relief groups remain skeptical. They emphasize that air-drops equate to roughly one truckload only, are logistically chaotic, and deliver significantly less than daily needs. Calls have intensified for the immediate opening of all land crossing points and restoration of orderly humanitarian distribution channels under UN and NGO systems to ensure dignified aid delivery.
The mounting crisis imperils Gaza’s fragile healthcare system. Hospitals are severely under-resourced, fuel shortages have shut down generators, medical equipment fails, and health workers, some contracting illness or dying from starvation—are unable to sustain basic services. With widespread hunger undermining patient survival and worker capacity alike, Gaza’s crisis has transcended urgency into catastrophic collapse.
Source: ABC News
