The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached an unprecedented crisis point, with international organizations and foreign governments sounding the alarm over a record-breaking hunger disaster. On Tuesday, August 27, 2025, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a stark warning, declaring that the hunger catastrophe in Gaza has hit a record high. The ministry called on Israeli authorities to take urgent action to prevent further deterioration and to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the hunger crisis is rapidly spreading and is expected to engulf the areas of Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah by the end of September. The ministry’s statement emphasized the dire threat facing Gaza’s youngest residents: “The rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip could threaten the lives of 132,000 children under the age of five, including 41,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition.” The ministry’s call to action was clear and direct: “The Russian side urges Israeli authorities to take urgent steps to prevent the situation from worsening, establish a ceasefire, ensure unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and deliver the necessary humanitarian aid, including food, to all in need.”
The scale of the crisis is underscored by grim statistics from within Gaza itself. A medical source in Gaza confirmed on Tuesday that three more residents had died from hunger and malnutrition, bringing the total death toll from these causes to 303 people, including 117 children. These numbers, reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry and local medical sources, paint a harrowing picture of a population teetering on the edge of survival.
International concern is mounting, with the United Nations Security Council reportedly preparing a new initiative to draft a resolution focused squarely on addressing the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that “Moscow is looking forward to the ratification of such documents this time,” signaling a desire for concrete international action rather than protracted debate.
On the same day, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), spoke out forcefully against what he described as a policy of denial by the Israeli government. Speaking at a seminar in Santander, northern Spain, Lazzarini did not mince words: “There is a famine right now in Gaza. This is a man-made famine driven by political and military will.” According to Anadolu, Lazzarini described the situation as having “hit rock bottom” in humanitarian terms and criticized the international community’s lack of response as “shameful.”
Lazzarini’s remarks highlighted the lethal combination of food scarcity and ongoing violence. “Gaza today is like hell. People are not only dying under bombardments, they are dying of hunger, and even when they go out to look for food, they are killed. Those who could reverse the situation in Gaza are doing nothing — no measures, no condemnation. Today we are witnessing complete impunity for Israel. There is no economic, political, or diplomatic cost for those committing these violations,” he said.
The UNRWA chief called for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, echoing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s demands. Lazzarini revealed that aid equivalent to 6,000 UNRWA trucks—enough to meet the food needs of Gaza’s population for two months—is currently being held outside the territory. This bottleneck, he argued, is a direct result of Israeli policy. “The Israeli government’s policy of denying the famine in Gaza is shameful,” Lazzarini stated, underscoring his frustration with the lack of progress on the ground.
The human toll of the crisis is not limited to the civilian population. Lazzarini noted that more than 360 UNRWA staff members have lost their lives since the escalation of the conflict. The dangers faced by aid workers and journalists were further highlighted by Lazzarini’s condemnation of an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which resulted in the deaths of journalists and civilians. He also called for greater support for Palestinian journalists, whom he described as “the only witnesses to what is happening in Gaza,” given Israel’s refusal to allow international reporters into the enclave to verify the situation independently.
The crisis in Gaza is not unfolding in a vacuum. It is the product of months of conflict, blockade, and political deadlock. The hunger disaster has been exacerbated by restrictions on the movement of goods and people, repeated disruptions to humanitarian corridors, and the destruction of critical infrastructure. Aid agencies have warned for months that the situation was deteriorating, yet, as Lazzarini pointed out, “the failure of the international community to heed warnings about the famine is shameful.”
As the crisis deepens, the calls for action are becoming more urgent—and more desperate. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, echoed by UNRWA’s leadership, calls for immediate steps: a ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and the swift delivery of food and medical supplies to those in need. The looming threat to 132,000 children under five, including tens of thousands already suffering from severe malnutrition, is a stark reminder of what is at stake.
Meanwhile, the political dimensions of the crisis remain contentious. Israel has consistently denied the existence of famine conditions in Gaza, a stance that has drawn sharp criticism from international observers and humanitarian officials. Lazzarini’s accusation that the famine is “man-made” and “driven by political and military will” lays bare the deep divisions over responsibility and accountability. The lack of access for international journalists has further complicated efforts to verify conditions on the ground, leaving Palestinian journalists as the primary—sometimes the only—source of firsthand information.
With the UN Security Council preparing to debate a new resolution and aid agencies warning of a spreading disaster, the coming weeks will be critical. If the predictions of the Russian Foreign Ministry prove accurate, the hunger crisis will soon engulf new areas, placing even more lives at risk. The international community faces a stark choice: take decisive action to alleviate the suffering in Gaza or risk being complicit in a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions.
For now, the voices of those on the ground—aid workers, medical professionals, and the residents of Gaza themselves—continue to call for help. Whether those calls will be answered remains to be seen, but the urgency of the situation is no longer in doubt.