DUBAI, July 21. /TASS/. More than two million Gaza residents may die of hunger due to Israel’s continued blockade of the embattled enclave, the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

"More than two million starving people in Gaza may die of hunger, with over 650,000 children suffering due to severe malnutrition," the statement reads.

Earlier, the movement accused Israel of using starvation and the deprivation of basic necessities against Gaza residents as a means of genocide, and called on the international community to immediately take measures to end Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been in place for over 21 months.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Avichay Adraee has refuted Hamas’ accusations, asserting that the radicals, using media outlets, "are promoting lies in order to save what is left of the conquered Hamas."

Tensions erupted again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border settlements and seizing hostages. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the enclave to dismantle Hamas’ military and political structure and rescue all those kidnapped, and began delivering air strikes on targets in Lebanon and Syria.

International humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza stopped on March 2, 2025, as all border crossings remain closed under Israel’s decision.

On May 18, the IDF announced that it was launching military operations in the enclave’s northern and southern regions as part of its Gideon’s Chariots ground offensive aimed at defeating Hamas forces in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that following the operation, the IDF plans to take control over the entire Gaza Strip.