Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the Independent's chief international correspondent Bel Trew says "it is very, very clear that 2.3 million people in Gaza do not have enough food to sustain themselves".

"We’re talking about the most respected human rights organisations and aid agencies on the planet who are struggling to get food to their own people," Trew says.

“I’m talking to doctors every day who are saying their staffers are having to have intravenous fluids before they can treat the malnourished."

She adds: "There is no question. There is mass starvation happening in Gaza... the levels of acute malnutrition are so high, some people are beyond saving."

More than 100 aid organisations released a joint statement this week "sounding the alarm" over what they describe as mass starvation across Gaza.

Earlier, Israel said 150 trucks carrying aid were collected by the UN and other agencies inside Gaza on Wednesday. They also say another 800 food trucks are waiting to be picked up, but agencies blame the Israeli government for obstructing aid distribution.

Najah, whose baby is suffering from malnutrition, says the situation in Gaza is "critical" and "dire".

"I go to bed hungry and I wake up hungry," she tells the BBC.

"We haven’t seen bread for a while," she says from a hospital in Gaza where she's sheltering. "[My son] has been sleeping for a week."

"I don’t have money to buy him milk or diapers," she adds.

As Gaza's humanitarian situation deteriorates further, Najah, a 19-year-old widow, fears she will "get shot" if she travels to an aid distribution site.

With no income or husband to help her, Najah instead waits.

"I hope they bring us something to eat and drink. We die of hunger with nothing to eat or drink. We live in tents. We are finished off," Najah says.

Away from Gaza, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is in Italy to meet senior Israeli and Qatari officials to discuss the possibility of a Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

The plans being discussed reportedly include a 60-day truce, greater access for aid and the release of Israeli hostages.

It comes as the Israeli government says it has received Hamas's response to its proposal for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza - and that it's under review. We don't know what that latest proposal includes.

Earlier this month, Palestinian officials familiar with details of the discussions told the BBC's Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf that negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal were on the brink of collapse.

Image source, Reuters

With the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsening, our reporting in recent days has focused on telling the stories of those affected.

• Yesterday we heard from Walaa Fathi, a mother-of-two in central Gaza, pregnant with her third child, who said: "I hope that my baby stays in my womb and I don’t have to give birth in these difficult circumstances"
• And Aida al-Safady, a Gazan woman with thyroid cancer and kidney failure, told us she was unable to receive all the treatment she needs and was "scared" of the illness, "the immobility, the poverty"

All the while, Israel's air and ground offensive continues. The Hamas-run health ministry reported a further 113 deaths on Wednesday - bringing the total number of deaths in Gaza since 7 October 2023 to 59,219.

As we reported a little earlier, at least 111 of those deaths are known to be the result of malnutrition. The tens of thousands of others are casualties of the fighting. Just this week, Israeli tanks advanced into central Gaza's Deir al-Balah for the first time.

A doctor in Gaza working with a UK medical charity says people are now experiencing "famine".

"No matter how I tell you all day long, I won’t be able to describe to you the suffering of people. They are tired. They are fed up of the current situation," Dr Aseel tells the BBC.

"We have come to a disastrous situation. It’s not that we are close to famine, we are living it."

"My husband went once [to an aid distribution point] and twice and then got shot and that was it," she says.

"If we are to die from hunger, let it be. The path to aid is the path to death. It’s a treacherous road. It's a one-way ticket in some cases.

"I see the injured people who come to the hospital in big numbers. We sometimes receive up to 50 injured a day. During the day, we don’t have any time to close our eyes and have some rest or even drink a cup of tea, if there’s any sugar."

Image source, Reuters

The UN's humanitarian agency, Ocha, released a new update last night - warning that the level of aid getting into Gaza is "a trickle" compared to the huge level of need.

"Ocha warns that the hunger crisis in Gaza has never been so dire," it said. "All too often, civilians approaching UN trucks are shot at."

Israel has accused Ocha of bias, with the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, saying this week there was "clear evidence of Hamas affiliations within Ocha’s ranks".

Yesterday, Israel said it would take steps to restrict Ocha and its staff in Jerusalem and Gaza, including by vetting hundreds of its employees and refusing to renew the visa of its head of office.

The organisation say the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has full confidence in its professionalism and impartiality.

"Any punitive measures will only add to the obstacles preventing humanitarians from reaching people facing hunger, displacement and deprivation," it says.

Cogat - a branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that deals with logistical coordination between Israel and the Gaza Strip - released a new statement this morning.

On Wednesday, it says, 70 food trucks were unloaded at aid crossings, and more than 150 were collected by the UN and aid organisations from the Gazan side.

It also says more than 800 await collection.

As a reminder, the UN and others have previously suggested that a minimum of 500 to 600 lorries a day are required to feed the population of two million people.

The UN has also said repeatedly that it struggles to get the necessary Israeli authorisation to collect incoming supplies and transport them through military zones, with ongoing hostilities, badly damaged roads, looting, and severe fuel shortages exacerbating problems.

A major problem in recent weeks, the UN says, has been that it is struggling to get commitments from the Israeli military that Palestinians will not be killed while trying to collect aid from its convoys.

Read more from our Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell on why more aid is not being distributed in Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

Sam Hancock
Live page editor

Last night the World Health Organization described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "mass starvation" - and said it was "very clear" that this was "man made".

Asked at a news conference what had caused this, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus blamed the Israeli aid "blockade".

This morning Cogat, an Israeli military agency, released a statement insisting it is continuing to "facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza".

More than 150 food trucks yesterday "were collected by the UN and international organizations from the Gazan side", it says, "but over 800 still await pick up".

Agencies have previously said at least 500 to 600 aid lorries are needed each day in Gaza.

The latest figures from the Hamas-run health ministry - published on Wednesday - show 10 deaths were recorded in 24 hours due to malnutrition. This brings the total number of deaths due to malnutrition to 111 since October 2023.

As Israel faces mounting international pressure over aid, the UN's humanitarian agency Ocha says the amount that has been entering Gaza "is a trickle compared to the immense needs".

We'll bring you live updates on this throughout the day, as well as the latest images from inside Gaza and analysis from our correspondents on the ground in Israel. Stay with us.

Image source, Reut

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

We'll soon be pausing our coverage of the war between Israel and Gaza and the growing warnings about starvation in the Strip. Here are today's key developments:

On the situation in Gaza:

• The World Health Organization says it is "witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths" and that it's documented 21 deaths related to malnutrition in children under five this year so far
• The United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency warns of "catastrophic birth outcomes" in Gaza as a result of "starvation, psychological trauma and collapsing healthcare"

On Israel's aid distribution system:

• Israel pushed back against accusations of being responsible for a hunger crisis in Gaza, with its government spokesman saying there was a "man-made shortage, engineered by Hamas"
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog also rejected those claims, saying Israel is "providing humanitarian aid according to international law"

Meanwhile, Gazans have been telling the BBC about what life is like for them as more than 100 charities jointly warned in a statement that "mass starvation is spreading" in territory:

• A hungry pregnant woman said she hopes “that my baby stays in my womb and I don’t have to give birth in these difficult circumstances"
• While a father of six said "there's no value in money" anymore as he struggles to put food on the table
• An aid worker described fainting from hunger this morning, while a paramedic said hospital staff are finding it hard to keep themselves fed

Image source, MAAYAN TOAF/GPO

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has visited IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip, rejecting accusations that Israel is responsible for a humanitarian crisis in the region.

"We are acting here according to international law. We are providing humanitarian aid according to international law," Herzog tells reservists from Battalion 969.

"The ones trying to sabotage this aid are Hamas and its people, who are willing to do everything to prevent our forces from dismantling infrastructure that could harm us and our citizens.”

And Herzog stresses that Israeli soldiers are "fighting to change the reality and to bring our hostages home".

It is Herzog's first visit to Gaza since the war began in October 2023.

Warning: the clip below contains distressing images.

As we've been reporting throughout the day, people in Gaza and aid agencies have been telling us about malnutrition being on the rise.

In the clip below, mothers speak of their inability to feed their children and having to watch them suffer.

Tom Joyner
Live reporter

Dr Fadi Nasser was searching for something to eat when a man in his 50s collapsed suddenly on the pavement in front of him.

Immediately, the university lecturer dropped what he was doing and rushed to the man's side, sprinkling water on his face to cool him down.

"I asked him what had happened, and he told me he hadn’t eaten anything for two days," Dr Nasser tells me from northern Gaza.

The UN's humanitarian agency Ocha said health officials had reported people collapsing in the street from exhaustion.

At least 10 people have died from starvation in the last day, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Dr Nasser, who continues to teach classes to his students despite the war, tells me he tries to help others as much as he can. But sometimes there's little he can do.

Earlier today, he walked past two children rummaging through garbage in search of something to eat.

"I walked away with tears in my eyes," he says.

Ethar Shalaby
BBC News Arabic

Image source, Aida al-Safady

A woman with thyroid cancer and kidney failure says her health has "deteriorated badly" since the war began because of difficulties in accessing treatment.

Aida al-Safady, 61, says she is meant to have hormone injections three times a week for her cancer but is only able to get them once a week at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital.

Aida also requires kidney dialysis four times a week but says she only gets it twice, if she’s "lucky".

"I cannot even walk, so I have been in a wheelchair for months now."

Like others, she says there is not enough food or drink to go around in Gaza, which has further worsened her health.

Aida, who is a widow and relies on the help of her son, says she fears for the future.

"I am scared the most of the illness, the immobility, the poverty and continuity of the war," she adds.

The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said it is "constantly improving" its method of delivering food to those in Gaza.

In a new update, the GHF says 13 truckloads of potatoes were delivered yesterday as part of a new pilot programme - it says that this delivery was in addition to more than two million meals - which together came to 50 truckloads.

The foundation also calls on the international aid community to "join our efforts".

This update comes after more than 100 aid agencies issued a collective warning of "mass starvation" amid reports from the Hamas-run health ministry of people dying from malnutrition.

The humanitarian organisations have said 28 lorries of food is being distributed each day on average.

For more on the GHF's operations, see our previous post from BBC Verify.

Alice Cuddy
BBC News

British paramedic Sam Sears - who we heard from a bit earlier - says medics at the first UK-funded field hospital in Gaza are receiving high numbers of malnourished patients.

“The food shortage here is an extreme pressure and it’s obviously getting worse,” he says over voice note from the facility in southern Gaza, which is run by British aid organisation UK-Med.

The markets have a "very limited supply" of things like tomatoes and cucumber, but staples like flour and sugar come with an "astronomical" price tag which most cannot afford.

He says they are also “seeing lots of cases of pregnant ladies who are malnourished”.

“Obviously, for the growing child it’s of paramount importance for that to be improved. We do have protein bars to give them as well as obviously advice and guidance when we can,” he says.

Image source, Reuters

Israel's representative to the UN is speaking before the Security Council in New York, where he says the country will take steps against the UN humanitarian agency Ocha.

Danny Danon says Israel will conduct security vetting of hundreds of Ocha employees, and "key employees" will not have their permits renewed.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has an office in Jerusalem and provides key data and information on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Danon cites "clear evidence of [Ocha staff's] strong affiliation with Hamas", though provides no further detail.

Danon also says Ocha's head of office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jonathan Whitthall, will not have his visa renewed and will have to leave the country by 29 July.

"Israel will take steps to ensure that what has been happening with Ocha will not continue," Danon tells the chamber. "At some point enough is enough."

Earlier, Ocha released a statement warning of "the rapid collapse of the last lifelines keeping people alive" in Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

A little earlier, we reported on how one pregnant mother in Gaza feared giving birth as a result of the aid shortage in the territory. And the WHO has just said more than a fifth of pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Strip are malnourished.

Now, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) is warning of "catastrophic birth outcomes" in Gaza as a result of "starvation, psychological trauma and collapsing healthcare".

These conditions, the UNFPA warns, are "threatening the survival of an entire generation".

The organisation offers data from the first half of 2025, which it says shows births sharply declined.

• In the first six months of 2022, there were 29,000
• In the year so far, there have been 17,000

A previous version of this post shared UNFPA statistics that said 220 mothers died from January to June. UNFPA has since clarified that the 220 deaths stated by the Palestinian Ministry of Health refers to stillbirths, not maternal deaths.

Image source, Reuters

The World Health Organization says it is "witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths" in Gaza.

The organisation's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says that so far in 2025, the agency has documented 21 deaths related to malnutrition in children under the age of five.

More than a fifth of pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished, he adds.

He says that since Israel lifted the blockade in May, food deliveries have been "intermittent" and "far below what the population needs".

"We call for the unimpeded flow of aid into Gaza, and for the unconditional release of the hostages," he adds.

Earlier, an Israeli government spokesman told journalists that the food shortages in Gaza were "engineered by Hamas".

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

I've been speaking to a father in Gaza, who’s been telling me about the costs involved with keeping his family alive amid the deepening hunger crisis in the Strip.

Mahmoud Abu Daqqa and his wife have six children, who range in age from one to 13 years old.

He tells me over WhatsApp how purchasing 3kg (6.6lb) of flour every day costs around $180 (roughly £133).

In the UK, a similar bag of flour would only come to around £4.

Stacked on top of that are the costs for nappies (Mahmoud tells me this adds up to around $150 every ten days) and formula for his infant - with one bottle costing $150 (£110) and lasting four days.

Market traders, Mahmoud tells me, now only accept cash, which means a transaction fee of another $50 (around £37) for every purchase.

Mahmoud has been documenting his daily life on TikTok to gather support, but he says his family is still only able to have “one piece of bread in the morning and one in the evening".

"In the afternoon we cannot eat."

These prices, Mahmoud says, “are only increasing, not becoming less".

"There’s no value for money. You are paying $200-$300 daily but you’re still hungry, your child is still hungry,” he says.

“We are suffering a lot… We want to be safe.”

Where is aid being distributed in Gaza?published at 15:20 BST 23 July

15:20 BST 23 July

Image source, Reuters

By Alex Murray

Since May, aid operations in Gaza have been run by a US-Israeli backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The foundation has established four aid distribution centres in Gaza - just a fraction of the 400 aid points run under the old UN-controlled system. Three are based in south Gaza and one in the centre of the Strip.

But since the GHF aid system began at the end of May there have been almost daily reports of people being killed while trying to get aid from the sites.

On 15 July, the UN human rights office said it had so far recorded 674 killings in the vicinity of the GHF's four sites in southern and central Gaza over the past six weeks.

Meanwhile, the four sites have never been open simultaneously, according to data provided by GHF. Over the past two weeks just two locations - SDS 2 in Rafah City’s Saudi neighbourhood and SDS 3 in Khan Younis - have been open at all.

It is unclear why the other sites have been closed. SDS 4 south of Gaza City has been closed since 4 July, while SDS 1 near the coast hasn’t been open since 16 June, according to GHF data which breaks down aid handed out per site for almost every day since operations began.

You can find more fact-checking from BBC Verify on a variety of topics over on their live page.