The Gaza Famine is a continuation of Israel's long-term starvation policy

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Israeli forces killed at least 70 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, including at least 22 aid seekers. In total, Israel has killed at least 2,095 aid seekers since May 27, 2025 (learn about aid seekers here).

The total known number of Palestinians who have died from malnutrition stands at 289, including 115 children.

For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Saturday, go here.

Projected acute malnutrition, August 2025

GAZA NEWS:

(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For a bit more critical context, skim this, this, and this.To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.)

journalist Khaled Mohammed Al-Madhoun, a photographer for Palestine TV

Israel Assassinates Journalist After Threatening Him for the Past Week

A Palestinian journalist, Khaled al-Madhoun, was killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza on Saturday, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said.

Al-Madhoun worked as a cameraman for the official Palestine TV channel. He was reporting in an area where Palestinians had gathered in search of humanitarian aid when the incident took place.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the killing as part of a “systematic campaign” against journalists aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, stressing that reporters in Gaza remain committed to their mission “despite the dangers.”

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Israel tried, but failed, to keep Gaza just above famine threshold

The famine in Gaza is unique – nothing like it has been recorded in at least the past 20 years.

Hilal Elver, former UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told Al Jazeera that the declaration of famine is a technical procedure, and famine had gripped Gaza earlier but was not formally declared due to access constraints to collect information.

She also said Israel tried to prevent famine from being officially declared before the latest three-month reporting period of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) by allowing in a limited number of aid trucks, but it failed.

Israel had also been counting calories that it allowed into Gaza long before the start of the current war, infamously calling it the “Gaza diet”, Elver added.

“For instance, they did not allow in chocolate because they didn’t like that children would be happy to get it. That’s an amazingly calculated system that started in 2007.”

RELATED: Putting Palestinians “On a Diet”: Israel’s Siege & Blockade of Gaza, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgI1i6l2Hpw&pp=ygVRRW1wdHkgc2hlbHZlcyBpbiBhaWQgd2FyZWhvdXNlczogVU4gYWdlbmNpZXMgY2FsbCBmb3IgYW4gZW5kIHRvIElzcmFlbCdzIGJsb2NrYWRl

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Gaza authorities accuse Israel of war crimes in expulsion of Gaza City healthcare workers

Gaza’s Government Media Office has condemned Israel’s plans to expel medical workers from Gaza City and destroy the healthcare system in the area.

It said in a statement that Gaza City is home to 1.3 million people, including 500,000 children, and therefore any plans to expel healthcare workers from the area would be “a war crime targeting the remaining elements of life”.

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In Gaza, Even the Cost of a Grave Has Become a Luxury

As we live in Gaza under the fear of rockets and Israeli bombardment, and with looming threats of an invasion by the Israeli government in full view of the world, in our markets, residents are fighting yet another war — one against soaring prices. It is a war that has drained pockets, exhausted people, and turned daily life into a burden no less cruel than the bombing. The calls of street vendors echo between the narrow alleys and their prices seem to float upward without limit, while purchasing power shrinks by the day.

Among the goods that have, tragically, become “war necessities” in Gaza is wood, which became increasingly important after cooking gas ran out and Israel banned its entry. With demand surging, people began breaking apart their own wooden belongings or scavenging rubble for pieces to burn for cooking or heating water.

In my own family, we dismantled our wooden chairs and even cut the branches of the rose bushes we had planted in our garden, which once gave our home a touch of beauty. We were not alone. Our neighbors cut down all the olive trees their grandfather had planted.

Even the “luxury” of death has become more expensive in Gaza. Dying is the easiest thing here, but after death, a grave — including digging, stones, and labor — costs between $290 and $377. Because of the lack of space, workers often bury more than one body in the same grave. When my grandfather passed away a few months ago he was buried above the grave of his brother, who died long ago. This is a glimpse into daily life here: whether alive or dead, you have to pay (continue reading here).

RELATED: This is what happens when money dies

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State must stop Israel’s genocide.

Urgently needed ACTIONS:

1. Full arms embargo.

2. Navies carrying aid breaking the blockade.

3. Protection presence authorised under UNGA res. United For Peace entering by sea, Rafah (in Gaza) and Jordan (West Bank/east Jerusalem). https://t.co/PT0vYfhcRq

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) August 23, 2025

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Israeli attacks force 60 desalination plants to shut down in Gaza, as clean water becomes scarce

Sustained Israeli bombardment across the besieged Gaza Strip has destroyed at least 60 desalination plants in the enclave, making clean water hard to come by for civilians, amid already dire humanitarian conditions and a famine.

International aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) issued a statement confirming the damage to the desalination plants, adding that “Israel is deliberately depriving Palestinians of necessities to life, including food, water and healthcare”.

According to MSF, the amount of clean water levels available in Gaza is now completely insufficient.

The organization said that the issue has been compounded by the fact that “Israel is preventing the import of materials necessary for water treatment. Since June 2024, MSF has received only one approval for every ten requests to import materials for desalination”.

Severely malnourished children receive medical treatment at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on August 20, 2025.

OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM HEADLINES:

(For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

Israeli forces besiege occupied West Bank village, block ambulances

Israeli Army Escalates Violations Across Occupied West Bank

ISRAEL NEWS & HEADLINES:

(Get a glimpse inside Israel and the turmoil within its government. Often, our news items and headlines are taken from Israeli media.)

NETANYAHU NEEDS GENOCIDE TO KEEP GOV’T TOGETHER: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to push forward with the reoccupation of Gaza, with security sources warning that the absence of such an offensive could accelerate the collapse of his government, Israeli daily Maariv reported Saturday. Far-right ministers have threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition if he agrees to any deal to halt the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza (more here).

IDF warns Netanyahu’s demands to demolish Gaza City could take over a year

OTHER NEWS:

Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Bernie Sanders in urging US to end Gaza famine

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:

“It is a famine, the Gaza famine”

‘Bizarre and terrifying’: Israeli quadcopters harass and attack Gaza City residents

Netanyahu thwarted seven Gaza ceasefire deals, Israeli report finds

Palestinians rush to escape the area after Israeli warplanes’ bomb strike on the tents where displaced Palestinians live in Deir al Balah, Gaza on August 21, 2025.

**STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – AUGUST 23, 2025*:**

At least 63,718 Palestinians killed, 167,181 injured – including:
at least 62,686 killed in Gaza (~18,500 children)
at least 1,032 killed in the West Bank (~210 children)
at least 157,951 injured in Gaza
at least 9,230 injured in the West Bank
at least 289 have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including 115 children

According to Palestinian authorities, during the ceasefire Jan. 19 – March 18 2025, Israeli attacks killed at least 170 Gazans, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations.

At least 2,076 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid parcels from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating on May 26, 2025.

Since the Israeli army resumed its assaults on Gaza on March 18, 2025 it has killed at least 10,778 people. 51 Israeli soldiers (most recent July 26) have been killed during the same time period.

*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 23, 2025: ~1,629 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 455 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel. (72 soldiers have reportedly died due to “operational incidents.”)

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 234 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 192 and 307 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

The Gaza Famine is a continuation of Israel’s long-term starvation policy