As Gaza endures its seventh consecutive week under total blockade, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sounded the alarm: food and medicine meant to save lives are now decaying just metres from those who need them most.

Since March 2, Israel has sealed off all border crossings into the Gaza Strip, preventing the entry of humanitarian aid despite the spiralling crisis inside. Over two million Palestinians remain trapped in a territory stripped of food, water, and basic medical care. UNRWA reports that half a million people are facing starvation, while disease spreads unchecked through overcrowded shelters and rubble-strewn streets.

In a video filmed outside a warehouse packed with unused aid, Sam Rose, acting director of UNRWA in Gaza, described the scene as a “moral outrage”. Flour to feed 200,000 people sits untouched. Medical supplies that could ease the suffering of thousands remain behind locked gates. “This is not about logistics — this is about lives,” he said.

UNRWA insists its teams are fully equipped to deliver aid to displaced families across the Strip. Supplies are stockpiled in Jordan and Egypt, and distribution networks within Gaza are intact, albeit strained. Yet without Israel reopening the crossings, international efforts remain stalled.

Palestinians in Gaza are not dying from lack of aid — they are dying from deliberate obstruction. Every delay deepens the humanitarian catastrophe and strips families of their last hope. The siege is not only collective punishment — it is a clear breach of international law. And still, the silence of the global community grows louder.