The report is from the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), dated 5 August 2025. They encourage everyone to share this appeal, amplify the voices of women from Gaza, speak to elected representatives, and demand accountability and access to aid.
The world is witnessing a man-made famine unfold in real time. Over two million Palestinians in Gaza are being systematically starved while being bombed and torn apart. This has driven many mothers to strip their children in front of cameras, hoping that the sight of exposed ribs might stir enough compassion to bring food to their empty stomachs. These images have become tragically routine. Small, frail bodies are reduced to symbols of suffering, while their mothers stand helpless—laying bare their pain to a world that cannot deliver food to their plates.
Since the beginning of this genocidal war nearly two years ago, Israel has used starvation as a weapon of war and a bargaining tool to subjugate the civilian population of Gaza.
The Israeli forces have systematically destroyed every means of sustenance for Palestinians, razing agricultural lands, cutting off water supplies used for both drinking and farming, killing fishermen attempting to fish off the coast, and slaughtering livestock. This has left Palestinians with no way to sustain themselves or feed their children.
Then came the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” an American non-profit organization hired by the Israeli forces. Designated as the only entity permitted by Israeli authorities to distribute aid, it has become notorious not for saving lives, but for executing over 1,300 Palestinians -including women and children – by July 30, 2025, simply for trying to access a bag of flour.
Many women have testified to WCLAC, defying danger and insecurity just to find an internet connection and make their voices heard. Their testimonies conveyed unbearable grief, rage, and helplessness, The testimonies shared painted a harrowing picture of daily life under manufactured famine and genocidal siege in Gaza:
Um Al-Abed, in her late fifties, described being shot at while trying to access food aid from the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.” She shared that they not only shot at her, but had also killed her son on a separate occasion. When asked how often she manages to get food from GHF, she replied that she doesn’t; instead, it’s the people around her -feeling sorry for her- who give her small portions of their own. Like many Gazans, Um Al-Abed emphasized that the shooting, tear gas, and pepper spray often occur without any provocation.
Attorney Saadia Qweider introduced herself not only as a lawyer, but as “a mother unable to protect or feed her children.” She spoke of her daily struggle to secure enough food for survival and emphasized that women are less likely to obtain aid due to the extreme danger surrounding distribution points. She added that many women face exploitation as a direct result of this vulnerability.
SafadAl-Qishaawi, a WCLAC field researcher, has been displaced over five times, going back and forth in Gasza, Safad spoke of her constant fear for her daughters and the anguish of watching her husband risk death each day in desperate attempts to bring home food.
Dr. Rewa’Nasser, an OB-GYN at Al-Helou Hospital, reported a staggering rise in miscarriages up to ten per day as well as increases in premature births, untreated trauma, and the total collapse of maternal health services. She explained that infants are born severely underweight, while the lack of nutrition and essential vitamins has led to widespread illness among both mothers and newborns, including infections, blood poisoning, and skin diseases.
Women, especially new mothers, are experiencing severe mental health crises, including postpartum depression, PTSD, and trauma, yet there are no psychological services available to support them. The complete collapse of the healthcare system has left these women to suffer in silence, with their psychological needs entirely neglected.
Dr. Amal Siyam, Director of the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza, described aid distribution points as death traps, exposed, degrading, and intentionally dangerous. She revealed that “women’s aid days” announced by the“Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” are used to lure and kill women at distribution points.
WCLAC affirms that this manufactured famine, carried out by the Israeli occupation and facilitated through the so-called humanitarian aid system, is an unprecedented atrocity in modern history. The Centre holds the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”, operated under Israeli control responsible for grave war crimes and crimes against humanity. The victims are primarily women and children, who are dying due to the deliberate deprivation of food, water, and basic medical care. The impact of this starvation will be carried on for generations to come.
A Crime Against Humanity
The use of starvation as a weapon of war is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law, including Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute. This is not just a violation of rights, it is a crime against humanity.
We urge civil society, states, the media, and every person of conscience: do not stand on the shameful side of history. The world is watching. Silence is complicity.
There is so much you can do. Share this appeal. Amplify the voices of women from Gaza. Speak to your elected representatives. Demand Accountability and Aid Access.
If you want to learn more, you can click this link: Women’s Center for Legal and Social Counseling
