Charlie Moloney & Joe Coughlan
The Guardian / July 23, 2025
The Israeli government on Wednesday said it was not responsible for a chronic shortage of food in Gaza, instead accusing Palestinian militants Hamas of deliberately creating a crisis, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The comments come after 115 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation“ was spreading in Gaza.
The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms.
Responding to the statement from the aid organisations, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters:
In Gaza today there is no famine caused by Israel. There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas.
Mencer accused the militants of preventing food from being distributed and looting aid for themselves.
France’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday malnutrition and the “risk of famine” in war-torn Gaza was the “result of the blockade imposed by Israel” on the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s ramping up of military operations in Gaza this week “is accelerating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, marked by malnutrition and the risk of famine. This situation is the result of the blockade imposed by Israel,” a spokesperson said.
Charlie Moloney & Joe Coughlan are both freelance reporters
