UN Warns Of Deepening Hunger Crisis In Gaza As Israel Intercepts Another Aid Ship

Nearly one in three people in the Gaza Strip are going days without food, the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) has warned, as the humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave deteriorates further.

"Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," the WFP said in a statement on Friday, raising alarm over the scale of hunger and starvation gripping the territory.

Warnings of famine in Gaza have grown more dire in recent days. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, nine more people died of malnutrition on Friday, bringing the death toll from starvation-related causes to at least 122 since the war began in October.

Despite mounting global concern, Israel—which maintains tight control over all land and sea access into Gaza—continues to reject claims of restricting humanitarian aid. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of misappropriating supplies and obstructing distribution inside Gaza.

As calls for immediate international action grow, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday signalled Britain may join efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza, following a letter signed by over one-third of British MPs urging the government to recognise a Palestinian state.

“News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late—but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route,” Starmer wrote in The Mirror. Aid agencies, however, have long cautioned that airdrops are logistically inefficient and incapable of meeting the scale of Gaza’s humanitarian needs.

Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Ship

Meanwhile, the Israeli military intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship in international waters late Saturday night, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing its cargo of food, baby formula, and medicine, AP reported.

The ship, Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was stopped approximately 40 nautical miles from Gaza. The coalition described the interception as “violent,” claiming that the Israeli Navy disabled the vessel's communications and cut camera feeds just before the operation.

“All cargo was non-military, civilian, and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel’s illegal blockade,” the group said in a statement on Sunday.

Israel’s military has not issued a formal statement, though the country’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Navy had stopped the vessel and was escorting it to port.

The interception marks the second time in recent months that Israel has blocked the coalition’s efforts to deliver aid by sea. In June, another vessel, Madleen, carrying 12 activists including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was intercepted and seized. In May, the group’s aid ship Conscience was disabled by a suspected drone attack off the coast of Malta.

Growing Global Scrutiny

The continued deterioration in Gaza has intensified international criticism of Israel’s blockade, which human rights groups and UN officials have described as collective punishment. Gaza’s health infrastructure is near collapse, and vast swaths of the population remain displaced, with limited access to clean water, food, or medical care.

Aid organisations have repeatedly called for unfettered access through land crossings, arguing that sea or air routes are insufficient and logistically complex. Despite announcements that Israel will allow limited airdrops, critics say these measures fall drastically short of addressing the scale of the crisis.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has vowed to continue its mission, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to lift the blockade and allow sustained, secure, and unimpeded aid deliveries to civilians in Gaza.

As hunger deepens and casualties rise, global pressure is mounting for a political resolution and immediate humanitarian relief. But for the people of Gaza, each passing day brings only more uncertainty, hunger, and loss.