Gaza City, August 23, 2025 — the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a breaking point as the United Nations officially declares a famine in the besieged Palestinian territory. At least 71 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, and dozens more have died since dawn today, including several children.
UNICEF warned that Gaza is now facing “a real child survival crisis,” adding that for many children, “it is already too late.” More than 12,000 children are acutely malnourished, and hundreds of thousands are on the brink of starvation.
Israeli air raids on Saturday morning hit Khan Younis and Maghazi refugee camps, killing at least 12 Palestinians, including six children, according to medical officials at Nasser Hospital. Earlier, four children were killed in Khan Younis when a strike hit tents sheltering displaced families.
Another Israeli drone attack struck an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp, wounding an unspecified number of people, a source at al-Awda Hospital said.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says parts of Gaza are now officially in famine. At least 500,000 people are living in “catastrophic conditions” — without food, clean water, or medicine.
A new investigation by Forensic Architecture and the World Peace Foundation found that Israeli forces carried out 64 attacks on civilians who were trying to collect food aid, including 25 incidents near GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) distribution centers run by the US and Israel.
Palestinians often walk more than 6 km (3.7 miles) to reach these aid points, risking their lives.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Gaza City could be destroyed like Rafah and Beit Hanoon unless Hamas accepts Israeli demands. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Interior Ministry called the planned assault on Gaza City a “death sentence” for over one million civilians still trapped there.
The international community remains divided. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned after failing to convince his cabinet to impose sanctions on Israel. In Yemen, Houthi rebels launched missiles and drones toward Israel in retaliation, briefly shutting down Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
The war, now in its 22nd month, has killed tens of thousands. A leaked Israeli military intelligence report, published by +972 Magazine and The Guardian, reveals that 83 percent of those killed in Gaza are civilians.
As famine and bombs continue to devastate Gaza, humanitarian agencies warn that without an immediate ceasefire, “An entire generation of children may not survive.”
