For 39 consecutive days, Israeli authorities have kept the Karem Abu Salem crossing sealed off, choking the last remaining artery for aid into the besieged Gaza Strip. With borders closed and bombs still falling, over two million Palestinians are being pushed beyond the edge of survival.

The impact of this closure has been devastating. Shelves have emptied, bread has disappeared, and the little food that remains has become unaffordable. Once a staple for the displaced, even a falafel sandwich is now out of reach for many, as cooking oil and gas vanish from the markets. UN-run bakeries have shut their doors, their flour reserves exhausted. The last lifelines—basic bread and clean water—are slipping away.

UN agencies and Gaza’s Health Ministry have issued stark warnings: the territory is spiralling into famine. Children are growing thinner. Hospitals, already gutted by war and blockades, can no longer keep up with the surge in malnutrition. Aid trucks are halted, medicine stocks are gone, and shelters are bursting at the seams.

For Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the message is clear: the world is watching, but not acting. As the blockade drags on and the international silence deepens, a man-made catastrophe is unfolding in real time—one that could still be prevented, if only the will existed.