Fears of famine in the Gaza Strip grew Thursday as a major aid group said it had run out of food amid Israeli strikes that killed at least 100 people, including children, across the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Scores more were injured in the bombardments across the strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
The bodies of young children could be seen lying among the dead at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in footage taken by an NBC News’ crew on the ground shortly after strikes rained down on the north of the enclave.
One woman said her grandson had been killed in one of the attacks.
“Why are they killing us?” she said. “There are no rockets here, no fighters.” She added that there was “no food, no water, nothing” available in Gaza.
Aid groups are warning of an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel’s blockade on food and aid enters its third month.
As a result, leading aid group World Central Kitchen said in a statement Wednesday that it has been forced to suspend operations and shutter its community kitchens, as it faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies. The group said it had served 133,000 meals per day and baked 80,000 loaves of bread over the past few weeks.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), told NBC News on Wednesday that a famine had “not yet” been declared. But she said an analysis would be released next week by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which sets a scale the United Nations and governments use to assess hunger.
The WFP warned last month that it had run out of its last remaining food stocks for hot meal kitchens in the Gaza Strip. More than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1 million people for up to four months, was waiting at aid corridors to be allowed into the enclave, it added.
Palestinian health officials say the Israeli offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people and 250 taken were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
The mounting crisis in Gaza came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday confirmed statements from President Donald Trump this week suggesting that three of the 24 hostages believed to remain alive in Hamas’ captivity may be dead.
Trump sparked confusion among the families of the hostages Tuesday by saying that the number of hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza had fallen to 21, from 24, without providing details.
Netanyahu on Wednesday confirmed that the status of three hostages believed to be in Gaza was now “uncertain,” adding: “We know for certain that 21 hostages are alive, there’s no dispute about that.”
It comes as Trump prepares for a visit to the Middle East next week, with trips planned to both Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He is not scheduled to visit Israel during the trip.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he met with Trump’s Middle East envoy Wednesday. He said in a post on X that they had an “important discussion on regional developments.”
Asked by reporters at the White House on Monday whether there was progress toward a new deal between Israel and Hamas to end fighting in the enclave and release the remaining hostages, Trump did not directly respond.
“There’s a lot of talk going on about Gaza right now. You know that, right?” he said, adding, “You’ll be knowing probably in the next 24 hours.”
