‘Unimaginable’ hunger: US doctor in Gaza reports children starving to death due to Israeli blockade

In an interview with Anadolu, Dr. Cooper, who has been working in Gaza for just three days, said the situation is beyond imagination, with children as young as five collapsing from starvation.

“I’ve seen children in the emergency room passing out from lack of food,” he said. “They are completely famished—those with chronic illnesses, heart conditions, and neurological issues are in life-threatening conditions. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

In an interview with Anadolu, Dr. Cooper, who has been working in Gaza for just three days, said the situation is beyond imagination, with children as young as five collapsing from starvation.

“I’ve seen children in the emergency room passing out from lack of food,” he said.… pic.twitter.com/hwI91YY8GD

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) August 2, 2025

Dr. Cooper reported that basic food items have become unaffordable, with a kilogram of meat or sugar costing around $100. Medical staff, including pediatricians, are also suffering from acute hunger, surviving on minimal meals for days.

“People are saying that there’s food here, why the price is so incredibly high and there’s such a scarcity of food. This is just absolutely unacceptable. Definitely not true,” he said.

The doktor said people claiming there’s no starvation in Gaza are lying, “I’ve seen starving children with my own eyes.”

Dr. Cooper called on Steve Witkoff, a representative of former U.S. President Donald Trump, to visit Gaza and witness the crisis firsthand.

“I would like to invite apparently Mr. Witcoff is going to be here not too far away…I would invite him to come here and see for himself what’s happening here,” he said. “I’ll meet him in person and I’ll show him into the hospital. I would say this is so unacceptable in this day and age to basically and I’ve seen that also with my own eyes.”

The doctor also highlighted the deadly consequences of Israel’s military offensive, describing an 11-year-old boy paralyzed by a gunshot while searching for food.

“The trauma bay is full of casualties because I walked there to go to my room. I mean, I got blood on my shoes right now because we walked through the trauma bay,” he said. “What is happening to why 11 12 year old boys are being shot with these powerful weapons is beyond comprehension. And that also drives the starvation because these kids are going to get food for the families. This is barbaric. It’s a crime scene.”

Since October 2023, at least 163 people, including 93 children, have died from starvation in Gaza, according to reports. Israel’s 18-year blockade and the shutdown of all crossings since March 2 have exacerbated the crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel’s offensive continues, with over 60,000 Palestinians killed, most of them women and children.

Dr. Cooper’s testimony underscores the urgent need for humanitarian intervention as Gaza faces an unprecedented collapse in food, water, and medical supplies.

“This is a crime scene,” he repeated. “The world must act before more children die.”

Dr. Cooper also described how malnutrition and contaminated water are killing Gaza’s children: “Undernourished and lacking nutrients, vitamins… They’re also thirsty. There’s no water. And the water they have is of poor quality. There’s a massive amount of diarrhea, fevers, infectious diseases—some we can’t even diagnose because we lack medical facilities.”

One of the most chilling revelations was Dr. Cooper’s account of children being shot while searching for food: “Young teenagers are going to fetch food and are being shot at. They’re being literally hunted down. They’re hunted dead.”

He recounted the case of an 11-year-old boy paralyzed by an Israeli bullet while trying to bring food to his family.