Gaza Complains Israel “Made Them Fat” as Data Proves the Famine Was a Hoax

Hamas spent two years insisting that Gaza was facing an Israeli-engineered famine. International agencies repeated the claim, reporters amplified it, and activists used it as a weapon. Now, with the release of new UNICEF data, the narrative has flipped. Instead of starvation, the numbers show an entrenched obesity crisis—one that existed long before the war and continued throughout it. The same Hamas channels that once warned of mass hunger are suddenly protesting that Israel is making them “gain weight,” pointing to shelves “overflowing with chocolate, soft drinks, and cigarettes.” Their own spokesmen now complain about eating gevina mevushélet (processed cheese) and “manufactured meat.” The pivot is so sharp it exposes what Israel, medical researchers, and Gaza’s own health officials were documenting for years: there was never a famine.

UNICEF’s latest report compares childhood obesity rates in Israel and in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. If Gaza had truly been starved, the data would show it. Instead, the numbers point to a society already burdened by high-calorie diets, sugar dependence, and lifestyle diseases. Twenty-eight percent of children aged 5–9 in “Palestine” are obese. In Israel, the number is 23%. Among 10–14 year olds, the rate climbs to 33% in “Palestine,” compared to 28% in Israel. Teenagers show the same pattern: 32% obesity under Hamas and the PA, 19% in Israel. Gaza’s adults are even heavier. Nearly 40% qualify as obese, and diabetes—long documented in Gaza—claims more than 11% of deaths. These are not famine statistics. They track with years of research showing obesity was already a defining public-health issue in Gaza, made worse by cheap imported sweets, excessive sugar consumption, and a welfare structure that rewards dependence instead of productivity.

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