Starvation in Gaza driving disability

International aid charity Humanity & Inclusion is sounding the alarm on the devastating and irreversible impact of starvation in Gaza, particularly on persons with disabilities, children, and newborns, as the humanitarian situation reaches catastrophic levels.

What we are witnessing is not only a man-made crisis but one that is rapidly creating a generation of people with lifelong disabilities, caused directly by prolonged malnutrition and lack of access to essential aid. 

“As starvation hits everyone in the Gaza Strip, it leaves a disproportionate impact on children and people with disabilities. Malnutrition is a leading cause of disability; we risk an entire generation being born with disabilities due to famished and malnourished mothers,” explains George Graham, Executive Director of Humanity & Inclusion UK. 

Malnutrition is closely linked to disability, worsening existing conditions and often causing severe physical and cognitive impairments. 

Obstructed aid and unfolding humanitarian collapse

Despite the existence of life-saving aid - food, water, medical supplies, and fuel - much of it remains stuck in warehouses, including inside Gaza, due to a siege imposed by Israeli authorities. Deliveries currently average only 28 trucks a day for over two million people - far below the 500 to 1,000 trucks Gaza received daily before the war. During the ceasefire in February 2025, an average of 600 trucks were entering per day and yet they were not enough. 

The consequences of this deliberate obstruction are devastating, especially for vulnerable populations. Over 83% of people with disabilities have lost their assistive devices, leaving them unable to move, seek help, or evacuate. 

Newborns denied formula and clean water are dying. Many are being born with disabilities such as cerebral palsy due to maternal malnourishment. 

Nutritional deficiencies are weakening immune systems, worsening injuries, delaying healing, and compounding health complications, particularly among those already living with disabilities. 

“Aid sits unused in Gaza because Israeli authorities refuse, delay and restrict coordination and guarantees for unfettered access and safe passage. We are being blocked at every turn and accused of not doing our jobs while being denied the tools to do them.” says Graham.

Ineffective responses and urgent call for ceasefire and access

“Starvation cannot be solved by a few trucks, a new crossing, or a few hours of calm. Children who have endured months of hunger are suffering irreversible harm, stunted growth, cognitive damage, injuries that become life-changing disabilities, and trauma. For many, it is already too late.” says Graham.

Airdrops are not the best option in a humanitarian emergency, particularly in a context like Gaza, where access by land is possible. Airdrops carry far less aid than trucks, a Hercules plane carries ten times less aid than a truck (3 metric tonnes versus 20-30 metric tonnes per truck). They are expensive, inaccurate, and can land in unsafe areas, including the sea or terrain contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

“We are also concerned about the fact that, with no one on the ground to organise the distribution, the packages can’t be accessed by the most vulnerable, such as elderly people, people with disabilities and women-headed households.” says Graham.

Within 24 hours of recent airdrops, communities reported injuries, tent collapses, exclusion of vulnerable groups and a loss of dignity. Aid even landed on tents and in bomb-damaged buildings, exposing desperate people to deadly risks. 

Humanity & Inclusion calls for urgent action: an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to the siege, and the restoration of a UN-led humanitarian system with full, unrestricted access.

“Children and civilians in Gaza cannot wait,” says Graham. “We are witnessing the irreversible - a humanitarian catastrophe giving rise to mass, preventable disability. This cannot continue.”  

Notes

• Spokespersons available upon request

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1996, providing rehabilitation, psychosocial support, access to education and adaptation of homes for people with disabilities.

Since October 2023, Humanity & Inclusion's local teams have provided emergency medical care and psychological first aid, distributed hygiene kits and taught people how to stay as safe as possible from bombings and explosive contamination.

Humanity & Inclusion is collecting donations to support its work in Gaza at: www.humanity-inclusion.org.uk/en/gaza-crisis