As Palestinians die waiting for food, Netanyahu calls for Red Cross intervention to feed Israeli hostages. Hamas counters with demands to open Gaza’s crossings.

GAZA CITY, August, 2025 — The humanitarian nightmare in Gaza has taken a darker turn, as at least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured on Saturday while waiting in line for food aid in northern Gaza. Witnesses say the crowd panicked after Israeli troops fired warning shots into the air to disperse a surge, but chaos ensued. It is the third such incident in as many weeks, underscoring what aid workers are now calling ‘the war for food.’

With food stocks dwindling, international organizations warn that famine is no longer a distant threat, but a present reality. “People are not just hungry, they are starving,” said Layla Baroudi, spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders in Rafah. “Children arrive at our clinics emaciated, sometimes carried by their siblings. Many don’t make it.”

In a sharp political counterpoint, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene—not for Palestinians, but to deliver food and medical supplies to Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. The plea was broadcast during a televised address in Tel Aviv, where Netanyahu claimed Hamas was ‘withholding food and water from innocent civilians, using them as pawns.’

Hamas responded swiftly. In a recorded message distributed through their official Telegram channel, the group accused Israel of ‘weaponizing starvation’ and reiterated their longstanding demand: that Israel open the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings to allow humanitarian convoys into Gaza. ‘If Tel Aviv wants food for its hostages, it must first stop starving two million people,’ the statement read.

Negotiations remain stalled. Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries are reportedly working behind the scenes to restart talks, but diplomatic progress is glacial. Meanwhile, aid trucks backed up at the border sit idle as Gaza’s markets go empty.

The UN has called for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian corridors to function, but such appeals have largely been ignored. ‘We are on the brink of total collapse,’ said Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. ‘This is no longer just a political crisis. It’s a moral one.’

As Gaza’s streets echo with the rumble of drones and the silence of empty stomachs, one thing becomes clear: this war is no longer just about land or power—it is about who gets to eat, and who does not.