TEHRAN – The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) in a letter to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for prompt actions to be taken to stop the humanitarian crisis escalated by starvation in Gaza, and end the torture of civilians.

Referring to the reports of the World Food Program (WFP) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the IRCS head Pir-Hossein Kolivand said that about a quarter of the Gaza population is facing famine, and thousands of women and children have died because of malnutrition. 

Also, there have been reports of Zionist military forces targeting civilians waiting in line for food, the official added.

The letter highlights Israeli actions as a clear example of war crimes and a clear violation of the principles of humanitarian law. The actions of the Israeli regime could fall under the definition of genocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the 1948 Convention.

The official went on to call on the ICRC to utilize all its capacities to expand humanitarian diplomacy with responsible institutions to pave the way for humanitarian aid to the region.

Erasing Gaza via starvation

Israel’s relentless military assault on Gaza continues to leave a trail of death, destruction, and starvation, as the international community remains largely passive in the face of what many now describe as a deliberate campaign of extermination.

On Monday alone, Israeli strikes killed dozens more Palestinians, according to medical sources. Just a day earlier, Israeli troops slaughtered more than 100 Palestinians across the besieged strip — including 92 unarmed civilians who were shot dead while desperately seeking food near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza and at aid distribution points in Rafah and Khan Younis.

The humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels under Israel’s suffocating siege, which has pushed Gaza to the edge of famine. With vital crossings sealed and aid severely restricted, Gaza’s 2.3 million residents face starvation in real time.

The UNRWA has sounded the alarm, revealing it is receiving “desperate messages of starvation” from inside Gaza — including from its own staff. In a post on X, the agency wrote: “Food prices have increased 40-fold. Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months.”

Calling the crisis “manmade,” UNRWA demanded urgent intervention: “The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.”

The WFP echoed these warnings. Antoine Renard, WFP’s representative for Palestine, told Al Jazeera from occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds): “You have a level of despair that people are ready to risk their lives just to reach any of the assistance actually coming into Gaza. Just to give you an idea, [the price of] 1kg of flour is currently $100.”

Renard added that many families are going days without food, surviving on meals every third day. He noted that only a “very limited” number of charity kitchens are still operating, with malnutrition soaring and fainting among civilians becoming increasingly common.

“[There’s a] soaring number of people facing malnutrition, and we can really see that the situation is really getting to levels that we’ve never seen ever before.”

MT/MG