Amnesty International released a report on 18 August 2025, accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. The group said the suffering is not a side effect of military operations but an intended outcome of policies designed over the past 22 months.

Starvation as State Policy

According to Erika Guevara Rosas of Amnesty, Israel’s restrictions and destruction of farmland, livestock, and water systems amount to a systematic attempt to “bring about physical destruction” of Palestinians in Gaza. The organization described this as part of Israel’s “ongoing genocide.”

Human Testimonies

• Displaced mothers reported being unable to produce breast milk due to hunger, feeding infants only water for days.
• Children were described as “weeping out of sheer hunger,” with some falling asleep from exhaustion without eating.
• Elderly residents said they feel like “a burden,” surviving on a single meal of lentil soup a day.

Health Crisis and Famine Conditions

• Gaza’s Health Ministry recorded 110 child deaths from malnutrition-related complications by 17 August 2025.
• The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine thresholds have been breached, with 13,000 cases of acute child malnutrition in July — the highest since 2023.
• Hospitals report a surge in preventable diseases like meningitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, worsened by lack of antibiotics and clean water.

Amnesty demanded an immediate lifting of the blockade, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, and suspension of arms transfers to Israel. The group said world leaders bear responsibility for enabling Israel’s “license to torment Palestinians with impunity.”