Sanctions and Starvation: How War is Pushing Iran and Israel to the Brink of Collapse

Amidst the rockets flying in the air and the riots ravaging the streets, the people of Iran and Israel are facing a scarier reality: hunger. With the prices of foods soaring, the people of both regions are facing a bleak prospect of their families, and children going hungry.

The rising prices of food has proved to be a devastating force in Israel and Iran, which were already embroiled in an ongoing conflict.

With the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Iran, government officials aren’t the only people feeling the strain of war. Instead, citizens have been the ones forced to accept harsh conditions and famine.

“My 11-month-old baby, Lama, suffers from severe malnutrition.”

These were the words of Mervat Hijazi, a mother of nine in Gaza, as shared in a May 2025 Reuters interview. But her struggles don’t end there. Her husband died searching for food. Her home: destroyed. And her family, like hundreds of thousands of others across the region, is running out of options.

As we look in on the military escalations and political state of affairs in Israel and Iran, the people of these areas are facing a less documented, yet equally (if not more) devastating emergency: a hunger crisis. For these people, food is not a given, it’s a risk.

Gaza: A Siege that Starves a Nation

In Gaza, the statistics speak for themselves, and they speak of catastrophe. Since March 2nd, 2025, Israeli forces have completely blocked humanitarian aid to most of the territory. Due to this:

• Over 25% of the population, which is around 470,000 Gazans, are facing catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5), according to a UN and Global Network Against Food Crises report.

• The price of a bag of flour has soared by an unbelievable 3,000% since February.

• 17,000 mothers and 71,000 children are on the brink of severe malnutrition.

• Meanwhile, community kitchens that were once feeding thousands are slowly running dry. The cost? 52 childrens’ lives.

The stories don’t paint a better picture. From Antoine Renard, the World Food Programme’s Gazan representative, “Families…were counting 16 lentils into the soup.” In his May 13th NPR interview, he noted that food distributions in the region had dropped 75%, from 1 million meals per day to just 250,000.

For most citizens, the quest to find food is fatal. A Reuters report documents a woman named Hind Al-Nawajha being fired on while waiting for aid. The Associated Press reports children scavenging weeds and even eating animal feed to survive. Across the territory, there have been a multitude of reported attacks on people who were standing in line or had gotten bags of pasta, wheat, and more. Families are being forced to consider whether they are willing to risk their lives to feed their children, a decision no one should have to make.

Even a simple bag of flour has become unaffordable for many average Gazan citizens.

Iran: Crushed By Inflation and Sanctions

In Iran, there’s another immediate threat: economic collapse. Spiraling inflation and crushing economic sanctions have placed food outside the reach of many average citizens.

• The annual food inflation rate in Iran reached a colossal 42.7% in April 2025, according to government statistics.

• Essentials such as potatoes have doubled in price, while dairy, legumes and other staples have risen from 40-70%.

• While many workers are still earning less than $120 per month, the cost of a modest monthly food basket is soaring, now passing $400.

A middle-aged Tehran resident told Iran International, “We’ve stopped buying many things…even good quality rice. We just can’t afford it anymore.”

While the government has tried to support citizens with food coupons and subsidies, these programs have been slashed in half over the past year, leaving famine a bleak reality for most citizens.

An empty dinner table has become all too familiar for hundreds of thousands of Iranians.

Food (In)Security Within Israel

It is also very important to acknowledge the situation happening in Israel proper. Here, although famine isn’t the current issue, conflict, inflation and inequality are putting pressure on the average citizen.

• Since the start of the war, large tracts of farmlands have been evacuated due to being situated in conflict zones. These areas are mostly near or along the border between Israel and Gaza, and account for 30% of Israeli farmland. Along with labor shortages and safety concerns, agricultural output has dropped significantly.

• Also, due to inflation and the rising cost of goods, meals have become more and more expensive, and in turn harder to afford. This means that families have to go to bed hungry more often, and nutritious fruits, vegetables and bread have been substituted with cheaper, less healthy options.

• Due to these factors an estimated 1.5 million Israelis are experiencing some form of food insecurity. While nonprofits such as Leket Israel have stepped in to help, this does not diminish the instability, especially from a food standpoint, being faced in Israel.

  
  

While the situation in Israel isn’t truly a famine, that does not undermine the impacts that the conflicts have had on Israeli people.

Three Crises, One Parallel: Ordinary People Left Behind

No matter the cause, the pattern in Iran and Israel is the same: the people suffer while the conflict rages on. In both regions families are skipping meals, or taking the arguably more fatal mission to find food and feed their families. While children are going to bed hungry (and sometimes not waking up), daily survival is no longer about politics in these areas. It’s about food. These issues aren’t just humanitarian crises – they’re a reminder that the biggest victims of conflict are usually not the ones who caused them, but rather the ordinary citizen.

So What Can Be Done To Solve These Issues?

• In Gaza, UN agencies have urged for immediate humanitarian corridors and a temporary ceasefire to resume food deliveries and humanitarian aid.

• In Iran, global pressure could help ease sanctions on food and medicine, while internal reforms are still needed to control inflation.

• In Israel, local food rescue and distribution organizations must be expanded and supported so that they can continue aiding citizens.

• And for the international community, we must continue to raise awareness.

Quoting UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher from his February PBS interview:

“If we can even open a single route for food trucks, we can save tens of thousands of lives.”

Conclusion

While we sit here reading this article from our comfortable and privileged lives, we must recognize the issues that are going on right now. Millions in Israel and Iran are going hungry, and we, the world, are watching. While awareness is the first step, compassion and action must follow, and we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the struggles of these innocent civilians.

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