Starvation in Gaza: How Hunger Kills, One Child at a Time
Children are dying of hunger in Gaza, not just slowly, but deliberately. Their smaller bodies mean they starve faster than adults. With each day without food, their bodies break down muscle, organs, even the brain. This is what starvation really looks like, and why we must act now.
What Starvation Really Means for Gaza's Children
We see children in Gaza, bones visible beneath skin, too weak to cry, already in the final stages of starvation. A child without food can die within two weeks.
Children burn through energy much faster than adults. Their organs and brains are still developing, requiring constant nourishment. Without food, their bodies quickly run out of reserves.
And when that happens, they start breaking down muscle, even organ tissue, just to stay alive.
Over 93 children have died from starvation-related causes in recent months. At least 82 adults have also died from hunger. This is not solely due to scarcity, but also to man-made deprivation enforced by policies that block food and aid.
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British Palestinian surgeon who spent 43 days operating in Gaza, explained:
"A child will die earlier from starvation. The loss of muscle and fat occurs almost immediately. Equally, those in older age groups will also die quicker."
- Medical expert report
"If you only have 15% muscle, like a child, your body reaches starvation mode much quicker. Two or three weeks without enough food, and the body starts shutting down."
- Medical expert report
How Starvation Shuts Down the Body
Here's what happens when the body is starved:
The Stages of Starvation
Initial Phase
Uses up stored sugar (glycogen) in the liver
Fat Burning
Starts burning fat reserves
Critical Phase
Body breaks down muscle and organ tissue
Final Stage
Body cannibalises itself - everything shuts down
Children don't have enough muscle to survive this phase. Their immune system collapses. Wounds don't heal. Infections that could be treated easily turn deadly.
What you see next is heartbreaking:
Visible Signs of Starvation
Sunken eyes
Skin bruising easily
Hair falling out
Swollen tummies
Constant shivering
Hallucinations
Silence - no energy to cry
Eventually, it's heart failure, infection, or both.
Why Starvation Is Worse for Gaza's Children
It's not just about food. It's about what the body needs to survive. And children need a lot more per kilogram than adults. That's why they die faster.
Overall, 127 people have already died of starvation in Gaza, including 93 children. These deaths result from policies imposing man-made malnutrition on the Palestinian population.
And even those who survive starvation will carry the damage forever:
Long-term Consequences of Starvation
Stunted Growth
Permanent height and weight limitations
Brain Development
Delayed cognitive and learning abilities
Organ Damage
Permanent damage to vital organs
Chronic Health Issues
Lifelong health complications
Generational harm. That's what's happening.
This Hunger Was Preventable
What makes this so unbearable? This hunger was imposed.
Since March 2024, the occupying forces have blocked food aid, bombed farmland, and destroyed bakeries. Families are now down to a spoonful of calories a day - if they find.
This is the most horrific way to kill. Starvation is slow. It's cruel, and it's deliberate.
Your Support Feeds the Forgotten
With every vegetable pack or hot meal you send, you're not just feeding a body.
You're rescuing a life from one of the most painful forms of death imaginable.
You're helping stop the progression from hunger to starvation.
From life to death, in shaa Allah.
Here's What You Can Do Right Now
Fresh Vegetable Pack
Provides essential nutrition for a family
A complete vegetable pack with fresh, nutritious produce to help prevent malnutrition and starvation.
10 Hot Meals
Immediate relief for those who haven't eaten in days
Ten nutritious hot meals delivered to children and families facing severe hunger and starvation.
30 Hot Meals Package
Comprehensive support for displacement shelters
Thirty hot meals delivered directly to displacement shelters, providing sustained nutrition for vulnerable families.
Final Reflection: The Most Beloved Action
"The most beloved of people to Allah are those who bring relief to others… the most beloved action is to repel hunger from another."
- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
al-Muʻjam al-Awsat
This is how you respond to starvation: with food, with mercy, and with urgent action. Every moment matters, lives depend on what we choose to do right now. Let us stand together and be the reason a child survives.
Feed the hungry. Save a life. Act now.
Because every moment without food brings a child closer to death.
