In Gaza, hunger is no longer a looming threat — it has become a lived reality, claiming the vitality of a generation with frightening speed. As international aid convoys remain blocked and border crossings shut since early March, malnutrition has surged at an alarming rate, with humanitarian agencies now warning that the Strip teeters on the edge of “extreme hunger.”

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sounded the alarm over the spiralling crisis, as the number of acutely malnourished children has doubled in just weeks. Yet the world, paralysed by political deadlock, continues to watch as Gaza's youngest waste away in silence.

For families like Afnan’s and Maysoun’s, whose infants struggle to grow amid empty shelves and vanishing food supplies, each day is a battle for survival. With no fruit, no formula, and no medicine, their attempts to nourish their children have turned into desperate improvisations. Their heartbreak is shared by thousands of other parents across Gaza who face the same impossible choices.

Despite the urgency, the response remains tragically insufficient. Humanitarian organisations have pleaded for ceasefires and unimpeded aid access, insisting that time is running out. But as dusk descends over Gaza, the sound of diplomacy remains quieter than the cries of hunger. And so, children continue to slip through the cracks — not from lack of warning, but from a lack of will.