Starvation strategy: How Israel created famine in Gaza

A caller probe (PDF) by probe radical Forensic Architecture (FA) has recovered that the Israeli subject has pursued a deliberate strategy of starvation that has pushed Gaza towards famine.
The report details however Israel has weaponised aid, forcing Palestinians to question agelong distances to scope military-run organisation centres successful the southbound of the Strip, portion opening occurrence connected those aforesaid civilians arsenic they question aid.

Researchers documented attacks connected civilians, the demolition of infrastructure specified arsenic nutrient warehouses, and looting by Israeli-backed gangs.

Between March 18 and August 1, 2025, each incidental was geolocated and verified utilizing video and outer imagery, creating a elaborate representation of however assistance is being manipulated to kill, alternatively than save, Palestinians.

Aid distribution: Civilian vs military

Israel has dismantled Gaza’s longstanding civilian assistance strategy and replaced it with a militarised 1 designed to further Israeli subject and governmental goals, portion controlling and starving the population.

Until aboriginal 2025, assistance reached Gaza done UNRWA, planetary NGOs, and assemblage networks, successful enactment with humanitarian principles. In January, Israel banned UNRWA, and by March, it had halted the introduction of assistance entirely.

For astir 3 months, nary assistance was allowed in, and erstwhile Israel yet eased the blockade nether planetary unit successful precocious May, the quantities permitted remained acold beneath the minimum needed.

The civilian strategy was past replaced by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel, which began distributing constricted rations done military-controlled stations, creating dependency connected a strategy that observers reason is “deadly by design”.

400 assistance sites replaced with four

While the erstwhile UN-led organisation web operated astir 400 sites crossed Gaza, the GHF, guarded by equipped backstage information contractors, has acceptable up lone 4 “mega-sites” for Gaza’s colonisation of astir 2 cardinal people.

The UN and assistance groups accidental the GHF and its exemplary weaponise assistance and ore it successful the southbound to unit radical to permission bluish Gaza, informing that this could pb to the depopulation of the north, arsenic planned by the Israeli military.

[Al Jazeera]

How the military-run ration stations work

The GHF assistance strategy provides Palestinians with lone a minimal, mostly dry, nutrient ration that radical person to locomotion agelong distances and participate Israeli-controlled subject zones to access.

Three stations prevarication betwixt Rafah and Khan Younis, and a 4th southbound of the Netzarim Corridor; each are wrong areas officially designated arsenic progressive combat zones.

The GHF ration stations and the routes designated to scope them, are wrong areas designated by the Israeli subject arsenic ‘dangerous combat zone’ and truthful unsafe for Palestinians [Forensic Architecture]

The stations unfastened lone briefly, often for a fewer minutes, and with small beforehand notice. To debar missing distributions, families often relocate person to them. Entry is dilatory and tightly controlled: radical are funnelled done constrictive fenced corridors resembling cattle chutes.

The stations supply nutrient only, without water, shelter, sanitation, oregon aesculapian care. The rations are highly constricted and mostly dwell of adust staples. They mostly deficiency caller oregon perishable items, macromolecule sources specified arsenic meat, fruits, oregon vegetables, and bash not see water, cooking oil, oregon different essentials needed to hole a due meal.

Crucially, visiting these stations exposes civilians to sedate danger. Reports bespeak Israeli forces and contractors person repeatedly utilized unrecorded ammunition to power crowds, sidesplitting hundreds of Palestinians. With soldiers untrained successful assemblage management, lethal unit has go routine. Even during ceasefires, civilians adjacent these zones person been targeted, meaning the militarised GHF strategy continues to endanger lives portion dismantling Gaza’s societal fabric.

Killing assistance seekers

Israel’s caller assistance organisation has led to what Human Rights Watch describes arsenic “regular bloodbaths”.

According to FA, the GHF’s process of organisation is starring to wide casualty incidents connected an astir regular ground astatine oregon adjacent the 4 GHF sites.

More than 1,300 radical person been killed portion trying to get assistance astatine GHF sites since May 27. In July alone, 729 radical were killed.

Infrastructure for the civilian exemplary (black) and the subject exemplary (blue) with each geolocated incidents related to assistance (red dots) [Forensic Architecture]

In their findings, Forensic Architecture noted that betwixt the play of March 18 to August 1, determination were astatine least:

• 64 incidents of civilians being attacked portion seeking aid, including 25 astir GHF stations,19 successful proximity to assistance routes, and 7 during assistance diversions.
• Nine incidents of constabulary and assistance workers being attacked.
• 23 incidents of assistance infrastructure being attacked, including warehouses, organisation points, communal kitchens, cafeterias, bakeries, etc.
• 37 incidents of assistance diversion by hopeless civilians, gangs and Israeli-backed groups.
• 58 forced evacuation orders issued to Palestinians successful Gaza.
• Six kilometres (3.7 miles) distance, connected average, for Palestinians to locomotion to get astatine a GHF ration station.

Israel’s starvation rationing

Israel has tightly restricted each provisions entering the Gaza Strip since 2007, erstwhile Hamas took power of Gaza. This includes reducing the quantity of nutrient per idiosyncratic to the minimum calories indispensable for survival. The energy proviso has been reduced to a level hardly capable for survival. As a result, successful 2018, the UN warned that Gaza was astatine hazard of becoming “unliveable” owed to deteriorating conditions.

Targeting cultivation and nutrient infrastructure

The civilian assistance organisation exemplary relied connected planetary humanitarian organisations and section authorities to administer assistance done hundreds of assistance centres and kitchens. Since October 7, that strategy has been destroyed systematically, including the demolition of astir of Gaza’s agricultural land.

Gangs stealing aid

FA states that, successful June, reports emerged that Israel was arming gangs and militias successful Rafah. FA outer imagery and verified videos amusement that these gangs person seized assistance trucks. Social media accounts linked to the Abu Shabab radical and analyses by FA betwixt May 25 and 29 amusement the radical taking power of assistance trucks entering the Karam Abu Salem crossing. Officials from the UN person confirmed that this looting has occurred adjacent Israeli subject positions, alluding to Israel’s complicity oregon indifference.

Aid sites regularly closed

Between May 29 and July 4, an FA investigation of 160 announcements from GHF ration stations recovered that Palestinians often had to locomotion betwixt 2.5 and 10 km (1.6–6.2 miles) from shelters to scope aid. Approximately 60 percent of announcements were posted connected Facebook little than an hr earlier opening, and aft June 19, stations were unfastened for little than 10 minutes. In 23 percent of cases, closures were announced earlier the antecedently scheduled opening time, making entree highly difficult.

Airdrops ineffective

Airdropping assistance has been utilized arsenic a method to present nutrient to Gaza, particularly aft planetary disapproval of Israel’s starvation tactics. However, specified drops person been minimal compared to motortruck deliveries. Packages often onshore successful inaccessible areas, forcing radical to instrumentality risks, specified arsenic jumping implicit walls to get aid. Airdrops are peculiarly unsafe successful “no-go” zones, which screen astir 90 percent of Gaza, and successful densely populated areas, they tin origin injuries – connected August 4, a caregiver was killed erstwhile an assistance container fell onto her.

Flight paths of planes that provided airdrops of assistance successful Gaza betwixt 31 July and 1 August 2025 successful narration to the ‘dangerous combat zone’ [Forensic Architecture]

The effect of weaponising aid

As a effect of the supra methods, FA has identified that Israel’s weaponising of assistance has led to 3 main patterns: the forced displacement of Palestinians via the locations of ration stations, making assistance deadly to scope and disrupting the civilian bid of nine successful Gaza.

Forced displacement to the south

The intentional determination of 4 GHF sites, with 3 successful Rafah, has led to Palestinians moving from their areas of residence towards these stations. This aligns with Israel’s plans to determination the colonisation of Gaza southbound towards Egypt.

Satellite representation from July 26, 2025, showing crowds of Palestinians and assistance trucks successful Khan Younis [Planet Labs PBC]

Evidence collected by FA, arsenic good arsenic different organisations, amusement that these coercive measures are designed to marque returning location impossible. Since March, Israel has issued 58 forcible evacuation threats, covering 80 percent of Gaza. The instauration of assistance organisation sites has led to an summation successful the fig of tents astir the al-Mawasi country and adjacent GHF ration stations.

Israel is deliberately pushing radical southbound arsenic portion of its penetration of bluish Gaza [Al Jazeera]

Making assistance deadly to reach

Palestinians are facing the hard determination of risking their lives to get the bare magnitude of nutrient oregon not attempting deadly journeys and starving to death. FA has stated that GHF sites, wherever contractors person utilized unrecorded ammunition and stun grenades connected crowds, are deadly by design. Testimonies from those seeking assistance person described reaching GHF sites arsenic “a decease sentence”.

There person been galore verified instances wherever assistance seekers person been changeable and killed with doctors confirming the signifier of injuries of those coming into hospitals corresponding with gunshot wounds. British surgeon Dr Nick Maynard, moving successful Gaza, described a signifier of gunshot injuries to the groins of boys betwixt 12-15 who had gone to GHF sites.

Disrupting civilian order

Israel’s militarised approach, regularisation of assistance entering and targeting of assistance seekers and workers has led to the breakdown of civilian bid successful Gaza. From January 2023 to July 2025, 924 assistance workers were killed worldwide, 56 perent successful Gaza. Pair this with Israeli-backed gangs, similar Abu Shabab, who person looted assistance successful controlled areas and the utmost hunger Palestinians are facing, these conditions are fueling endurance behaviours that erode societal stability.

Famine declared successful Gaza

On August 22, a UN-backed show declared famine is occurring successful the bluish Gaza Strip and is projected to dispersed to cardinal and confederate areas by the extremity of September.

Famine is the worst level of hunger and occurs erstwhile radical look terrible nutrient shortages, wide malnutrition and precocious levels of decease owed to starvation.

Assessing the concern successful Gaza is hard due to the fact that entree to the enclave is severely restricted and Israel has destroyed astir each its wellness facilities. According to IPC, famine is when:

• At slightest 20 percent of households look utmost nutrient shortages.
• Acute malnutrition affects much than 30 percent of the population.
• Death complaint exceeds 2 deaths per 10,000 radical per day.

[Al Jazeera]

As of August 26, the known fig of radical who person starved to death, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health successful Gaza, reached astatine slightest 303 people, including 117 children.

More than 100 assistance organisations – including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Amnesty International and the Norwegian Refugee Council person condemned Israel’s weaponisation of aid, saying it was obstructing lifesaving assistance from entering Gaza.

[Al Jazeera]

More than a 3rd of those who person died from starvation were children. They are the astir vulnerable, arsenic hunger rapidly harms their increasing bodies and captious organs. The archetypal 1,000 days of a child’s life, from gestation up to 2 years of age, are captious for a child’s development.

Malnutrition during this play tin origin irreversible damage, stunting some carnal maturation and cognitive ability. Without urgent treatment, galore children look a precocious hazard of death.

[Al Jazeera]