Huda [translated]: “Before I used to look like this. The war has changed me”.

Presentor: Huda has lost half her body weight since March, when Israel shut the crossings into Gaza and imposed a blockade.

Huda [translated]: “Malnutrition has turned my hair yellow because I lack protein. You can see here, this is how I was before the war. Like this.”

Presentor: Her mother says Huda’s needs are simple: fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, maybe a little meat. But she won’t find any here. Aid agencies say the entire population faces mass starvation.

Three-year-old Amir was sitting in a tent with his family when it was hit by a rocket. Medical staff were able to reassemble his intestines and stop the bleeding, but they can’t feed him properly. Instead, he’s given dextrose, a mixture of sugar and water, which has no nutritional value. His aunt has come to visit, but Amir is effectively on his own. His mother and his siblings were killed in the strikes. His father no longer speaks.

Amir’s Aunt [translated]: “His father is in a terrible state and won’t accept the reality. What did these children do? Tell me what was their crime?”

Emergency doctor, Dr. Adil Husain: “I have baby Hassan here with his mother. And beautiful baby Hassan, he is 3 years old, yet only weighs 6 kg. At his age, he should be about 15 kg. He is unable to hold his legs up, his arms up because he has no energy. He’s unable to cry. He has no muscle, because the muscle is being broken down for energy. So there’s just skin and bones.”

Presentor: Baby Hassan died two days after this video was recorded.
These desperate scenes have not been caused by scarcity. There’s plenty of food waiting at the crossings or held in warehouses within the enclave. These images of food aid were distributed by the Israelis. Their officials claim the UN is failing to distribute it. But the Israelis and the Americans have taken charge of food distribution. The UN’s 400 aid centers have been shut. In their place, the UN tries to organize convoys, but it says it can’t obtain the necessary permits and faces draconian restrictions on aid.

Dr. Adil Husain: “This is man-made. This is a man-made starvation. This is a man-made crisis.”

Presentor: Sometimes food is made available at communal kitchens called tekkiye. First, you have to wait. And then you have to fight; for watery soup or some beans. And everybody here is desperate. Brawlers and breadwinners, nothing shields these children from the brutal facts of life. And many leave with nothing.

Israeli officials say they have not identified the presence of starvation in Gaza. But on the streets, the very essence of life is ebbing away.