The Gaza Strip’s Unrelenting Humanitarian Nightmare

What is it?

Since October 2023, over 69,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 170,000 injured in Gaza, with women and children comprising a high proportion of fatalities. Around 90% of the 2.1 million residents have been displaced, many of them multiple times. Most are now living in tents, ruined buildings, or open areas that lack basic services. Famine was formally declared in the Gaza governorate in August 2025, plunging the entire population into acute food insecurity. Projections warn of catastrophic hunger spreading further, as malnutrition and hunger-related diseases surge. These conditions have already killed hundreds—including many children—while putting tens of thousands of young ones at risk of severe wasting. Gaza’s health system is nearing total collapse, with many hospitals destroyed or barely operational amid shortages of fuel, medicines, staff, and equipment.  Basic infrastructure for water, sanitation, electricity, and housing lies devastated, leaving 1.5 million people in urgent need of shelter as winter intensifies risks. Civilians face frequent injuries or death even when trying to access food, water, or aid, often due to violence at distribution sites, shootings by security forces, or chaos amid looting, with UN reports documenting thousands of such casualties in 2025 alone. International agencies describe Gaza as one of the world’s worst crises, calling for unrestricted, large-scale humanitarian aid access and political resolution to avert mass deaths.

 

Civilian Casualties

As of late 2025, Gaza's Ministry of Health reports over 45,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023, with more than 107,000 injured. These are figures that independent analyses deem credible and are likely to underrepresent indirect deaths from disease and starvation.  Women and children make up about 70% of recorded fatalities, including roughly 16,000 children and 11,000 women by November, per UN-verified data. Specific incidents like over 500 killed at aid distribution sites in 2025—including the March flour massacre, where Israeli forces opened fire on crowds seeking food rations, killing 112 and injuring hundreds—underscore the peril. Extreme risks also face journalists (over 180 killed) and healthcare workers (more than 500 medics killed while on duty), marking Gaza as the deadliest conflict for reporters in decades. By August 2025, total deaths had surpassed 62,000 per local authorities, including thousands from malnutrition and due to shortages of medical supplies. Even after the October ceasefire, sporadic violence and access barriers have caused hundreds of monthly indirect deaths.

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The Shortage of Basic Needs

Gaza is facing acute shortages of food, water, fuel, shelter, and medicine amid ongoing conflict and restrictions, which is affecting all 2.1 million residents and leading to  disease outbreaks and preventable deaths even after the October 2025 ceasefire. The entire population is experiencing high acute food insecurity Famine has been declared in Gaza since August 2025, with over 500,000 facing starvation, basic food prices skyrocketing, and aid trucks not delivering sufficient resources .  Around 320,000 children under five remain at high malnutrition risk, with hunger-related deaths surging. Clean water access is severely limited by destroyed infrastructure, forcing reliance on contaminated sources, which fuels diseases like diarrhea and hepatitis.  Sanitation systems are collapsing in overcrowded shelters; fuel for hospitals, pumps, and cooking is critically low due to blockades, halting water treatment and medical operations. Meanwhile, 1.5 million people urgently need emergency shelter ahead of winter, living in tents exposed to cold and rain, while medicine stocks cover only a fraction of needs for injuries, chronic illnesses, and malnutrition. The situation is overwhelming field hospitals despite ongoing Red Cross aid efforts hampered by access barriers and looting.

 

The Effects of Gaza's Crisis on Families and Children

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has devastated families and children, with over 16,000 children killed since October 2023 and widespread orphanhood and malnutrition affecting hundreds of thousands. More than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition, with at least 16 starvation-related deaths by mid-2025; however, risks remain high for around 132,000 more due to ongoing food shortages and disease. Pregnant mothers and infants are particularly vulnerable, as malnourishment leads to insufficient breastmilk production, causing stunted growth and cognitive impairments in surviving children. Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, an average of nearly two children per day have been killed by sporadic violence, including clashes between armed groups, Israeli military operations in designated zones, and attacks on civilians, while winter conditions expose children living in tents to cold and illness. The war has left more than 39,000 children without one or both parents, forcing some as young as eight years old into work to support their families. Nearly 660,000 children remain out of school, losing precious education opportunities. Children also endure ongoing psychological trauma from bombardments, loss, and repeated displacement to overcrowded "safe zones" covering less than 12% of Gaza. Children endure profound trauma from relentless bombardment, profound loss, and repeated displacement into overcrowded "safe zones" now spanning less than 12% of Gaza's territory. UNICEF offers psychosocial support and essential aid, though ongoing insecurity severely restricts access to these vulnerable families. Despite efforts by UNICEF to provide psychosocial support and aid, uncertainty continues to limit reach to many vulnerable families.

 

How to Help

Individuals can support Gaza's families and children through verified donations to established organizations delivering food, water, medicine, and shelter amid ongoing shortages and trauma.  Since the October 2025 ceasefire, aid access has improved slightly, but a massive need for reconstruction and recovery persists. Reputable options include the British Red Cross Gaza Crisis Appeal, which funds the Palestine Red Crescent and ICRC for essentials and long-term recovery; the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), providing medical supplies, water repairs, and family reunification via Rafah field hospitals; Anera, delivering food, hygiene kits, and medicines with doubled donation impact; the World Food Programme (WFP), combating famine for over 500,000 via food and cash aid; and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), offering medical care for injured children. Additional steps involve using Charity Navigator to verify high-rated groups like Mercy Corps, Oxfam, and Save the Children for efficient relief; avoiding controversial schemes such as the closed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, (which has been criticized by 170+ NGOs for distribution risks); and advocating by contacting political representatives to push for sustained aid access and ceasefire enforcement, echoing UN and relief calls.

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Glossary

Governorate: An administrative division or province within a country, similar to a state or region; in Gaza, the Gaza Governorate refers to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where famine was first formally declared in August 2025.

 

Stunted Growth: A condition in children caused by chronic malnutrition, leading to impaired physical development where height and weight fall significantly below age norms, often irreversible and linked to lifelong health issues.

 

Cognitive Impairments: Deficits in mental functions like memory, attention, problem-solving, and learning ability; in Gaza's context, these arise from severe malnutrition in infants, reducing brain development and future intellectual potential.

 

Psychosocial Support: Professional or community-based assistance addressing emotional, psychological, and social needs after trauma; UNICEF provides this in Gaza through counselling, play therapy, and family programs to help children cope with war-related stress.

 

Citations: 

Al Jazeera. (2025, December 1). Israel's war forces Gaza children into work as breadwinners. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/1/israels-genocidal-war-forces-gaza-children-into-work-as-breadwinners 

 

British Red Cross. (n.d.). Donate to Gaza | Gaza Crisis Appeal. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/gaza-crisis-appeal 

 

Human Rights Watch. (2025). World report 2025: Israel and Palestine. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/israel-and-palestine 

 

International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Israel-Gaza: Make a donation and give your help. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/israelgaza 

 

International Rescue Committee. (2025, October 23). Crisis in Gaza: What to know and how to help. https://www.rescue.org/crisis-in-gaza 

 

New York Times. (2025, October 28). More food reaches Gaza, but it's still not enough. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/world/middleeast/gaza-aid-trucks.html 

 

OCHA oPt. (2025, November 28). Gaza humanitarian response | Situation report No. 34. https://www.ochaopt.org/content/gaza-humanitarian-response-situation-report-no-34 

 

Palestine Children's Relief Fund. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://www.pcrf.net 

 

Red Cross. (2025, December 1). What's happening in Gaza? A desperate humanitarian crisis.  https://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/disasters-and-emergencies/world/whats-happening-in-gaza-humanitarian-crisis-grows 

 

United Nations News. (2025, September 15). Thirsty and starving, Gazans face 'inhumane' evacuation. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165858 

 

UNICEF Australia. (2025, October 27). Gaza: A ceasefire without peace. https://www.unicef.org.au/stories/gaza-a-ceasefire-without-peace 

 

World Food Programme. (2025, October 19). Food and cash assistance. https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/palestine-emergency

 

World Health Organization. (2025, May 12). People in Gaza starving, sick and dying as aid blockade continues. https://www.who.int/news/item/12-05-2025-people-in-gaza-starving--sick-and-dying-as-aid-blockade-continues 

 

World Health Organization. (2025, July 27). Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza, WHO warns. https://www.who.int/news/item/27-07-2025-malnutrition-rates-reach-alarming-levels-in-gaza--who-warns