GAZA, KOMPAS.com - Secretary General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that mass starvation in Gaza was caused by human activity.

He assessed that this condition occurred due to the tight blockade which prevented the entry of humanitarian aid into the region.

"I don't know what else you can call it other than mass starvation. It's man-made, and that's very clear. It's because of the blockade," Tedros said, as reported by The Guardian on Wednesday (July 23, 2025).

Tedros' statement is in line with the contents of an open letter signed by 109 international humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders or MSF, Amnesty International, and Oxfam International.

In the letter, they accused the Israeli government of obstructing the distribution of life-saving aid for Gazans.

"Just outside Gaza, and even within the territory itself, there are tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter, and fuel lying untouched because humanitarian organizations are blocked from accessing or delivering them," the agencies wrote.

They say Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation of distribution have created chaos, hunger and death.

An aid worker in Gaza even revealed heartbreaking testimony.

"Children tell their parents that they want to go to heaven, because at least there is food," he said.

Children queue and collect water at a distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 10, 2025.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that at least 10 people died of starvation in the past 24 hours. The total number of starvation victims has now reached 111, including 80 children.

Famine in Gaza has been warned by many aid groups for months.

Nowadays, photos of corpses with protruding ribs and residents fainting on their way to aid distribution points are becoming increasingly common sights.

Before Israel attacked Gaza, around 500 aid trucks were allowed into Gaza every day.

Now, that number has plummeted to an average of 28 trucks per day, far from enough to serve a population of more than two million.