GAZA'S children are “at growing risk of starvation” due to Israeli attacks and its humanitarian blockade, the UN warned today, as its food agency said it had completely run out of food stocks.

Nearly all essential infrastructure that civilians depend on for survival has been destroyed, the UN’s Human Rights High Commissioner's Office said in a statement today.

It also warned that since the collapse of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in March “and in the past week in particular, Israeli attacks on Palestinians have accelerated.”

Israel’s constant displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and its complete blockade of aid into the Strip has only exacerbated the situation, it said.

“The Israeli military also continues targeting civilian objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population,” the statement read.  

“Between April 21 and 22, the Israeli military conducted deliberate and co-ordinated attacks across three governorates in Gaza, resulting in the destruction of 36 heavy machines, including excavators, water trucks and sewer suction tanks.

“These were being used by Gaza municipalities for humanitarian relief operations, such as rubble removal, water distribution, and maintenance of vital sanitation systems.

“The destruction of these vehicles is likely to significantly hinder rescue operations, including retrieval of the injured and killed from under the rubble, clearance of debris to allow the movement of ambulances, as well as delivery of safe drinking water, solid waste collection and the operation of sewage systems — further risking outbreaks of disease.

“With food aid halted, remaining stocks in Gaza are rapidly depleting, rendering the strip’s population, especially vulnerable groups and children, at growing risk of starvation.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it has “delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip.”

These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days, the WFP said.

“No humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border crossing points remain closed,” it said.

“This is the longest closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced, exacerbating already fragile markets and food systems.

“More than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance — enough to feed one million people for up to four months — is positioned at aid corridors and is ready to be brought into Gaza by WFP and food security partners as soon as borders reopen.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli military reportedly killed at least another 80 people in air and artillery strikes across Gaza today.

Israel’s latest destruction of the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, following Hamas's mass killing and kidnapping spree in Israel that month. More than 1,130 people were killed and more than 200 were forcibly taken to Gaza. 

Gaza’s government puts the death toll from Israel’s genocidal rampage at over 61,700 people.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced on Thursday night that it has received three of the 50 new Lockheed Martin fighter jets it has ordered from the US arms company.