Humanitarian aid is not a weapon: hunger must not be used as a tool of war
A silent outrage that must speak out
In Gaza, children are dying of hunger. Not because of a natural disaster, but because food is deliberately withheld. On May 25, 2025, Mohammed, a four-year-old Palestinian boy, died because humanitarian aid never reached him. Hours later, Alaa al-Najjar, a Palestinian pediatrician and mother, was on shift at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis when she received the bodies of nine of her children, killed by an Israeli bombing. Her only surviving child is in critical condition.
The horror of these events is overwhelming. And yet, as the Italian Association of Cultural Pediatricians (ACP)reminds us, we cannot remain silent. We cannot be silent, because silence is complicity.
The numbers are shocking: 18,000 children dead
A May 24 editorial in The Lancet painted a devastating picture: 35 children are killed every day in Gaza, totaling 18,000 child deaths so far. And those who survive are often amputees, denied access to food, education, and healthcare. Gaza now holds the tragic record of having the largest cohort of amputee children in the world.
This is not the result of natural disaster, but of deliberate policy. A systematic violation of basic human rights.
Hunger as a weapon: a crime against humanity
Pediatricians stress a non-negotiable truth: hunger cannot be used as leverage. Blocking humanitarian aid is a modern siege tactic, aimed at the most defenseless—children, mothers, the ill.
Humanitarian aid is not a weapon, it is a right. And rights must always be protected.
A collective responsibility: ACP’s call
The ACP, along with many other scientific and medical societies, calls for urgent action. They demand protection for children—regardless of nationality or religion—and urge the international community to move from outrage to concrete steps.
“Children are not enemies,” declares ACP President Stefania Manetti. Each day we remain silent, the world grows more unjust, more fragile, more brutal.
FAQ
1. Who was Mohammed, the Palestinian child?
He was a 4-year-old boy who died of hunger on May 25, 2025, due to the blocking of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
2. Who is Alaa al-Najjar?
A Palestinian pediatrician and mother who lost 9 of her children in a bombing. Her tenth child is critically injured.
3. What is the ACP?
The Italian Cultural Pediatricians Association, which issued an appeal to protect children in war zones and ensure aid access.
4. What did The Lancet report?
That 35 children die daily in Gaza and that hunger is being used as a weapon of war.
5. Why is hunger considered a weapon here?
Because aid is being systematically blocked, making hunger a deliberate tool of oppression.
6. How many children have died so far?
Around 18,000, according to current estimates.
7. What’s the medical situation in Gaza?
Most hospitals are either destroyed or overwhelmed. Nasser Hospital is one of the few still operating.
8. What is being asked of the global community?
To protect children, uphold human rights, and guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid.
9. Why is it important to speak up?
To break the silence that enables these crimes and give a voice to those who have none.
10. What can we do?
Spread the message, support humanitarian organizations, and put pressure on political leaders to act.
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