GAZA — Doctors in Gaza say they are treating patients whose emaciated bodies reflect the growing humanitarian catastrophe, as international experts confirmed famine has gripped parts of the war-torn enclave.
At Al-Ahli Hospital, Texas spinal surgeon Mohammed Adeel Khaleel described a 17-year-old gunshot victim whose ribs were protruding and who motioned to his mouth to indicate hunger.
“The level of hunger is really what’s heartbreaking,” Khaleel said. “It’s beyond imagination.”
On Friday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s top authority on hunger crises, declared that Gaza City is officially in famine.
The announcement followed months of warnings that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive were pushing the territory to the brink.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said eight more people died of malnutrition in the 24 hours after the declaration, bringing the total to at least 281 since the start of the war.
The U.S. nonprofit MedGlobal reported that one in six children under 5 in Gaza is suffering acute malnutrition.
Israel rejected the famine designation, calling it “an outright lie” and blaming Hamas for diverting aid.
The United Nations and relief groups counter that Israeli restrictions and lawlessness on the ground have prevented food from reaching the most vulnerable.
Doctors say the evidence is clear. At Shifa Hospital, nutrition chief Dr. Mohammad Kuheil pointed to a 15-year-old girl whose recovery from airstrike wounds has been hampered by severe weight loss.
Other patients, like 20-year-old Karam Akoumeh, have wasted away as shortages of nutritional supplements compound the effects of their injuries.
“There are no protein sources, only legumes,” Kuheil said. “Meat, chicken, dairy, and fruit are unavailable.”
Displaced families echoed the same fears. “We’re starving. We eat once a day,” said Dalia Shamali, who fled her home in Gaza City’s Shijaiyah neighborhood.
The IPC warned famine is expected to spread unless there is an immediate ceasefire and large-scale humanitarian access. — Agencies
