Gaza Crisis: 7 Shocking Truths Behind Israel’s Blockade and the Starvation Strategy

On July 21, 2025, Gaza witnessed its deadliest day in the ongoing crisis, with at least 85 civilians killed while seeking food aid. In the famine-ravaged north, Israeli tanks opened fire near the Zikim crossing as thousands gathered around UN aid trucks. Similar violence unfolded in the south, leaving more dead in areas falsely considered safe. Amid mounting starvation, Israel issued new evacuation orders for central Gaza, forcing residents and aid groups out of Deir al-Balah—a critical aid hub.

The humanitarian infrastructure is collapsing, with hospitals overwhelmed and malnutrition rampant. Survivors face agonizing choices between hunger and gunfire, while forced displacement strips away the last remnants of stability. The crisis, marked by weaponized starvation and repeated violence near aid convoys, underscores a moral and legal failure of historic proportions. As global inaction persists, Gaza’s sirens cry out not just for help—but for justice.

Gaza Crisis: 7 Shocking Truths Behind Israel’s Blockade and the Starvation Strategy

The phrase “gunshots rained down” is more than a graphic headline – it’s a horrifying reality that claimed at least 85 Palestinian lives on July 21st, 2025, marking the single deadliest day for civilians desperately seeking food in Gaza’s 21-month nightmare. This isn’t just a statistic; it’s a brutal manifestation of a system failing at every level, where the act of seeking sustenance becomes a death sentence. 

The Unfolding Tragedy: Desperation Meets Deadly Force 

• The Northern Carnage: In the famine-stricken north, scenes of utter despair turned lethal. Thousands gathered near the Zikim crossing, drawn by the arrival of 25 UN World Food Program trucks – a beacon of hope for “starving communities.” Eyewitness accounts and UN footage depict a terrifying escalation: Israeli tanks encircling crowds, drones overhead, and automatic gunfire erupting. Survivors like Ehab Al-Zei describe being trapped for hours under fire, concluding, “Let us die of hunger, it’s better.” Nafiz Al-Najjar recounts “random” targeting, witnessing his cousin killed. The Israeli military acknowledged firing on a “gathering of thousands” deemed a threat but contested the casualty figures, blaming Hamas for inciting chaos. Over 150 were wounded, overwhelming hospitals already on the brink. 

• South Not Spared: Simultaneously, violence erupted elsewhere. Six were killed by Israeli gunfire near the Shakoush area, close to operations of the US/Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), despite the GHF stating no awareness of incidents nearby. Further south in Khan Younis, seven Palestinians sheltering in tents were killed, including a five-year-old boy – a stark reminder that no place in Gaza offers safety. 

A Shrinking “Safe Haven”: The Cruelty of Displacement 

Adding profound fear to the hunger, Israel issued new evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, specifically areas of Deir al-Balah. This region, previously less affected by major ground operations and a critical hub for international aid organizations, was considered a relative sanctuary. 

• Humanitarian Collapse: Organizations like Medical Aid for Palestinians reported immediate consequences: multiple NGO offices and guesthouses ordered to evacuate, nine clinics forced to shut down. The UN scrambled to clarify if its vital facilities in Deir al-Balah were included. 

• The Impossible Choice: Residents like Hassan Abu Azab voiced the collective despair: “Where will we move to?” With Rafah already under evacuation orders and Khan Younis devastated, the Israeli directive to flee to the underserviced coastal tent camp of Muwasi feels like a cruel joke. Images emerged of families piling meagre belongings – bedding, even live ducks – onto carts, smoke rising in the distance. 

The Context of Collapse: Starvation as a Weapon of War? 

This horrific day didn’t occur in a vacuum: 

• Engineered Famine: Gaza’s population endures a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Limited aid trickles in, utterly insufficient for over 2 million traumatized, displaced people. Hospitals simultaneously sounded alarms – a coordinated, desperate SOS – highlighting rampant malnutrition and crippling medicine shortages. 

• Political Calculations: While ceasefire talks continue in Qatar, Prime Minister Netanyahu frames the expansion of military operations (like this new central Gaza offensive) as “pressure” on Hamas. Meanwhile, within Israel, the Hostages Families Forum condemned the new evacuation orders, demanding explanations and echoing growing public sentiment: “Enough!” Tens of thousands protested in Tel Aviv, marching to the US Embassy demanding an end to the war and a deal for the remaining hostages. 

• The Unbearable Toll: Beyond the staggering death toll (over 58,800 Palestinians, predominantly women and children according to Gaza’s Health Ministry), lies an immeasurable cost: shattered lives, profound trauma, and the erosion of basic human dignity. 

The Human Insight: Beyond Numbers to the Unbearable Weight of Survival 

The true horror lies not just in the numbers, but in the inhuman choices forced upon people: 

• The Calculus of Hunger: Choosing between the certainty of starvation and the lethal risk of seeking aid is an impossible decision no human should face. Al-Zei’s declaration – preferring death by hunger to death by gunfire while trying to get flour – encapsulates this soul-crushing reality. 

• Displacement as Perpetual Terror: The new evacuation orders aren’t logistical directives; they are instruments of terror, severing connections, shattering fragile stability, and pushing people into ever more perilous, overcrowded spaces with no future. The panic in Abu Azab’s voice – “Where will we move to?” – is the voice of a people systematically stripped of refuge. 

• The Weaponization of Necessities: When accessing food becomes a battle where “gunshots rain down,” it signifies a profound moral collapse. Aid convoys should be sanctuaries, not killing fields. The repeated incidents near aid points, regardless of stated justifications, point to a terrifying normalization of violence against civilians performing the most basic act of survival. 

• The Silencing of Compassion: The simultaneous ambulance sirens weren’t just calls for medical help; they were a primal scream for the world to witness the consequences of inaction and complicity. The doctors holding signs about malnourished children represent a medical system, and a society, pushed beyond breaking point. 

Conclusion: A Stain on Humanity 

The deaths of 85 people seeking food on a single day is not merely a tragic event; it is an indictment. It exposes the catastrophic failure to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law, and fulfill the most fundamental duty: ensuring people don’t starve to death under bombardment. As the ground shifts yet again in central Gaza, forcing thousands from their meagre shelters, and the specter of famine looms larger, the international community’s continued equivocation becomes increasingly indefensible. The sirens wailing over Gaza are sounding for all of us. Will we hear them?