What is happening in Gaza? Children suffering from severe malnutrition as 470,000 people face mass starvation

With hundreds of thousands on the brink of starvation and children suffering from severe malnutrition, urgent action is needed in Gaza. Learn what’s happening on the ground, how the Red Cross and Red Crescent are responding, and what you can do to help.

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Last updated 29 July 2025

 

It has been 20 months since the attacks in Israel and the escalation of a conflict which has led to intolerable suffering in Gaza and the wider region. Here you can find out what's been happening, how we've responded and what you can do to support people affected by the crisis. 

Key issues:

Latest news

Food crisis

The Gaza crisis explained

Red Cross response

How to help

  

The latest news update on the Gaza humanitarian crisis

• After months without any aid able to enter, Gaza faces a critical risk of famine.
• 470,000 people in Gaza face starvation – 22% of the population.
• People – especially children, pregnant women and the elderly - are being treated in hospitals for severe malnutrition. 
• More than 52,000 people have died and at least 118,000 have been injured in Gaza since October 2023.
• Since the launch of new aid distribution sites in May, mass casualty events have rapidly increased. 
• The Red Cross field hospital has treated more than 2,200 weapon-wounded patients since the establishment of new aid distribution sites in May – more than the whole of 2024. 
• Families of those held hostage in Gaza remain caught between hope and despair as they desperately await news of their loved ones. 

A catastrophic humanitarian disaster

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is unbearable - and deteriorating sharply. Every day has been a fight for survival for the people in Gaza.  
 
Food supplies have nearly run out completely, the medical system is shattered and there is an almost complete lack of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Entire families are trapped and desperately seeking safety and security amidst shelling and crumbling infrastructure.  
 
The collapse of the health system, coupled with continued fighting and the complete suspension of aid delivery for 11 weeks, has led to an unprecedented rise in unmet humanitarian and medical needs.

 

Severe malnutrition is only getting worse

Months without aid have pushed malnutrition in Gaza to catastrophic levels, with children, pregnant women, and the elderly suffering the most. Hospitals are admitting increasing numbers of malnourished patients, and despite limited resources, medical teams are working tirelessly to provide emergency nutrition support, essential food supplements, and basic medical care.

Dr Mohamed El-Deeb, a Palestine Red Crescent Society doctor at Al Quds Hospital, described treating children so weak from severe malnutrition that they sometimes collapse in their sleep. 

More than 20 months of conflict have devastated Gaza’s critical infrastructure, including services vital for electricity, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. These disruptions have deepened food insecurity, causing severe shortages of essential supplies such as flour, sugar, proteins, and carbohydrates, leaving many without the nutrients necessary to survive. 

The worsening crisis has pushed medical facilities beyond capacity. Field hospitals like the Red Cross facility in Rafah are overwhelmed, facing rising numbers of emergency cases alongside malnutrition treatments.

Despite the immense pressure, medical teams continue to provide vital nutrition and care, supported by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as they respond to the escalating humanitarian emergency. 

• Find out more about the malnutrition crisis in Gaza.

Increase in mass-casualty events since the opening of new aid distribution sites in May 2025

In the last month, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has seen an unprecedented rise in patients, treating over 2,200 in the last month alone the vast majority caused by gunfire. That’s more than 2024 in total.  

Since the launch of new aid distribution sites around 27 May 2025, there have been more than 21 separate mass casualty events with toddlers, teenagers, the elderly and mothers among the wounded.  

The scale and frequency of these incidents has overwhelmed the 60-bed field hospital that is now running beyond maximum capacity daily. But, despite the chaos and overwhelming demand, the surgical teams continue to operate tirelessly – often performing 40 emergency procedures a day.  

“In the previous rotations, we would work in the operating theatre between eight-10 cases. Right now, we are working on 30-40 cases per day which is a massive difference just in terms of workload,” operating theatre nurse Haitam al-Hasan said. 

“We have people screaming, rushing, trying to be the first in the line because, of course, everybody wants to be treated first. We have a variety of injuries, mostly complex injuries, blast injuries, but mainly gunshot injuries.” 

Additional support teams from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have also been deployed to help manage the influx and deliver lifesaving care under unimaginable pressure. 

• Learn more about the Rafah Field Hospital. 

 

Donate to the Gaza Crisis Appeal

Gaza crisis explained: aid, health, water and displacement

Is aid getting into Gaza?

For over 12 weeks, aid has not been able to enter Gaza.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have warned that relief supplies have been nearly exhausted.
 
The clock is ticking, with supplies running dangerously low, making it harder and harder for humanitarian organisations to respond. With food, fuel and medical supplies nearly gone, people are living on the brink. Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and ICRC are doing everything they can with the resources they have.

Take a more in-depth look with our explainer: how is aid getting into Gaza?

 

Is there a famine in Gaza?

Gaza faces a critical risk of famine. The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with almost half a million people facing starvation. 

The independent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) have warned that if the escalation of hostilities and mass displacement of people continues and humanitarian organisations continue to be unable to access populations in dire need, then famine in Gaza is not just possible but increasingly likely.

Explainer: what is food insecurity and why is it a threat?

 

Is there any clean water in Gaza?

Seventy per cent of critical water infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by the ongoing hostilities. Dehydration is making people extremely ill, with children the most vulnerable.

Infectious diseases, such as vomiting, diarrhoea and hepatitis are spreading rapidly in Gaza, especially in overcrowded areas where people are sheltering.

Are any hospitals open in Gaza?

The healthcare system in Gaza has all but collapsed:

• Gaza’s healthcare system is near collapse, with widespread destruction of medical facilities. 
• Severe medical supply shortages: 47% of hospital medications, 70% of primary care medications, and all chronic disease treatments are unavailable. 
• Specialist care, like cardiac surgery and orthopaedics halted or severely limited. 
• The Red Cross field hospital in Rafah has treated over 80,240 patients, performing over 3,400 surgeries. It is currently the only functioning hospital in the area.
• With supplies dwindling, frontline medics warn they may be forced to turn patients away.

• More about the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah

Are people homeless in Gaza?

A million people have been forced to evacuate Rafah since the start of May 2024, and people have been displaced up to six times. 

Following the ceasefire agreement, many hundreds of thousands of people have returned to northern Gaza. According to OCHA, 565,082 have crossed from southern to northern Gaza, mainly on 27 and 28 January.

While the January 2025 ceasefire agreement allowed many to return home for the first time in 15 months, the humanitarian challenges remain overwhelming. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) continues to work tirelessly on the ground to provide essential support.  

What's happening in the West Bank?

The security situation and rising violence in the West Bank is deeply concerning. According to UNOCHA, since January 2024, there have been:

• 600 deaths, including those of 109 children.
• More than 4,000 injuries, including to over 800 children.
• 44,000 people displaced from their homes. 

The Red Cross and Red Crescent response

The Palestine Red Crescent

The Palestine Red Crescent Society is working day and night, risking, and losing, their lives to deliver assistance. They are mandated to receive and distribute this aid to where it is needed most in Gaza.

In Gaza PRCS teams have:

• received over 22,000 trucks of humanitarian aid for distribution in Gaza
• distributed 1.6 million emergency aid items
• provided almost 900,000 health services. 

In the West Bank PRCS teams have:

• delivered relief items to 220,000 people, including food, water, tents and blankets

"We must always have hope": what it's like for Red Cross Red Crescent colleagues responding to the crisis in Gaza

How you can help Gaza

The best way to help people in Gaza today is by donating to the Gaza Crisis Appeal. 

Throughout this crisis, Red Cross and Red Crescent teams have been working day and night in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, Lebanon, and neighbouring countries. Their dedication and the funds raised so far have helped provide lifesaving support, including food, shelter and medical aid.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is accustomed to working in highly volatile situations. An emergency response is always led by the National Society in the impacted country. In Gaza and the West Bank, that’s the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The ICRC is working with PRCS to ensure our help can reach those in need. The unparalleled reach of our Movement provides us with a range of options to ensure that our supporters’ donations can be used as efficiently and effectively as possible to reach those in need.

Aid alone cannot solve this crisis and it is not a substitute for political and other long-term solutions – but it will save lives. Together, with your support, we will continue to be there for people wherever they are for as long as we are needed, in the coming weeks, months and years ahead.  

You can help us continue our work in Gaza and affected areas in the wider region, including Lebanon, by donating to our Gaza Crisis Appeal.

 

• Donate to the Gaza Crisis Appeal

A year of conflict in Israel and Gaza

On 7 October 2023, 1,195 people were killed in Israel and 251 taken hostage. 

Since then, more than 52,000 people have been killed in Gaza and many more injured. Hostages are still being held, and innumerable survivors are traumatised.

The ceasefire agreement reached in January 2025 gave millions of people in Gaza respite from relentless suffering. Families that were torn apart were reunited or able to put their loved ones to rest.

In March 2025, hostilities renewed, and the ceasefire agreement collapsed.

"No aid trucks means more families struggling to find food, more families unable to access clean water, more families left to live without adequate shelter, and more families left in in desperate need of healthcare," says Gabriel Karlsson, the British Red Cross's country cluster manager for the Middle East and North Africa. "Facilitating access to essential, life-saving assistance is an obligation under International Humanitarian Law."

It is vital that humanitarian aid can enter Gaza, families can be reunited, and lives can be saved.

 

Palestine Red Crescent Society response over the past year and a half

For the past year and a half, nearly 1,600 staff and volunteers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have been working tirelessly to provide life-saving support in Gaza. In the face of immense challenges, losses and risks to their own lives, PRCS has distributed 1.6 million emergency relief items, and provided emergency medical support to over 100,000 people.

“We are doing everything we can with the resources we have," says Abdul Aziz Abu Aysha, director of the disaster risk management department at PRCS. “Every day we see more children without the food they need, more patients we can’t treat, and more families who have lost everything. We need an increase in aid now — without this, we will be forced to watch people suffer with no way to help."

In March 2025, eight PRCS medics were killed while on duty in Gaza, while one PRCS colleague is still missing. This brings the number of PRCS colleagues killed in Gaza since 2023 to 28. Two PRCS colleagues have been killed while on duty in the West Bank, since 2023.

“In life, [their] uniforms signalled their status as humanitarian workers; they should have protected them. Instead, in death, those red vests became their shrouds,” said Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of the Red Cross. “We cannot allow these deaths – any of these attacks – to become normalised. We must reject the narrative that they are inevitable, or part of the risk of the job.” 

• How is aid getting into Gaza?

 

Magen David Adom response since 7 October 2023

In the first moments after the attacks on 7 October, Magen David Adom mobilised 1,500 ambulances and over 10,000 first responders. Tragically, six Magen David Adom colleagues were killed while responding.

Since then, Magen David Adom has responded to over one million emergency calls and collected more than 300,000 units of blood. Magen David Adom continues to support communities, particularly those living near the borders with Gaza and Lebanon, by answering emergency calls and dispatching ambulances and paramedics. 

 

The plight of hostages remains a priority

The families of over 200 hostages endured months of terrible suffering. More than a year on, the plight of the hostages taken from Israel remains a priority and we call for their immediate and unconditional release.

When the January 2025 ceasefire agreement was reached, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated multiple release operations, reuniting those held hostage with their families. It also facilitated the release of Palestinian detainees. 

The ICRC remains ready to continue to implement the agreement so that more families can be reunited.

The British Red Cross reiterates what the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said from the outset of the crisis: that those taken hostage must be released immediately, and the ICRC must have access to check on their health, the conditions they are being detained in, and their treatment.

• What is the Red Cross doing to help hostages in Gaza?

 

Understanding the region

Map of Israel and the Gaza Strip

  

What is the Occupied Palestinian Territory?

The Occupied Palestinian Territory or OPT is an internationally accepted description, used by the United Nations. It refers to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem). 

What is the Gaza Strip?

The Gaza Strip is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is an enclave 25 miles long and six miles wide, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel, and Egypt.