At least 69 children have now died of malnutrition in Gaza, as famine spreads unchecked under Israel’s continued blockade. The figure, released on Friday by the Government Media Office in Gaza, is part of a grim total: 620 Palestinians have died from hunger and lack of medical care since the start of the war.

With all crossings sealed for 139 consecutive days, over 76,000 trucks loaded with food, medicine, and fuel have been blocked from entering the Strip. Gaza’s population, especially children, cancer patients, and pregnant women, are being pushed to the edge of survival. According to local authorities, around 650,000 children are now at risk of dying from hunger, while 12,500 cancer patients and nearly 60,000 pregnant women have been left without care or nutrition.

This is not the result of natural disaster, it is the product of deliberate policy. Israeli forces have destroyed 42 community kitchens and 57 food distribution centres and launched more than 120 attacks on humanitarian convoys. These strikes have turned aid zones into “death traps”, killing 877 Palestinians and injuring thousands more.

Palestinian officials describe the starvation as part of a systematic campaign of extermination, accusing Israel and its key backers, including the US, Germany, and France, of either direct involvement or wilful complicity. While Gaza’s lifelines are choked, international responses remain woefully inadequate.

With thousands of lives hanging by a thread, Palestinians are urging the global community to act, not with statements, but with the urgent opening of crossings and the protected delivery of aid. Every moment of delay costs more innocent lives.