A young girl’s heartbreaking struggle reveals the devastating impact of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip continues to produce heartbreaking images, but few are as powerful and painful as that of Maryam Duvvas. She is only nine years old and now weighs just a few kilograms. Reduced to skin and bone, Maryam has become a living symbol of the humanitarian crisis devastating the Palestinian territory.
She is currently in critical condition at the Patient Friends Association Hospital in Gaza City. Doctors are fighting to save her life as the United Nations sounds the alarm: hunger in Gaza has reached levels that go beyond emergency, approaching what can only be described as full-scale famine. UN-backed agencies have warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, particularly in the north. This is the first time that such an extreme level of food insecurity has been recorded in a modern conflict zone as densely populated as Gaza.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), over 50% of Gaza’s population — around 1.1 million people — are currently facing either Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine) or Phase 4 (Emergency) levels of food insecurity. The IPC report indicates that the minimum thresholds for a formal famine declaration have already been met in some areas, with acute malnutrition and mortality rates rising rapidly. Young children are the hardest hit, with hundreds of cases of wasting — the most severe form of undernutrition — being reported in hospitals and clinics, many of which are without basic supplies or even electricity.
Gaza’s health authorities have reported that six people, including one child, have died in recent days from starvation or related causes. The total death toll from hunger now stands at 184, including 94 children. However, the actual numbers are likely higher, as many areas are unreachable and cannot report casualties due to ongoing bombardment and chaos.
The lack of secure access to humanitarian aid worsens by the day. Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential goods, combined with the constant threat of airstrikes, make it nearly impossible to distribute food, water, and medical supplies consistently. Aid workers say desperation is so severe that civilians are willing to risk their lives just to find food for their families. “People are exhausted, malnourished, and still willing to risk death for a few scraps of food,” one aid worker told Al Jazeera.
The conflict shows no sign of easing. At least 41 Palestinians were killed since dawn today, as Israeli military operations continue and indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas remain stalled. Meanwhile, 600 former senior Israeli security officials have written to U.S. President Donald Trump, urging him to intervene and pressure Israel to end the war, arguing that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to the country.
Public figures such as Bob Geldof have made emotional appeals for the international community to save Gaza’s children. But on the ground, the emergency continues to worsen.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 60,839 Palestinians have been killed and more than 149,000 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Amid constant airstrikes, food shortages, and collapsing infrastructure, calls are growing louder for the opening of sustained and safe humanitarian corridors. Without them, thousands — many of them children — may die of hunger in the coming weeks and months.
Maryam Duvvas could become just one of countless invisible victims of this humanitarian disaster.
