As Gaza starves, churches must lead on Palestinian recognition

(RNS) — Starvation, especially mass starvation, must transcend politics. What we are witnessing in Gaza is exactly that: the brutal starvation of a population. This crisis should unite people and nations in urgent common purpose to stop it and save lives — particularly because, as is the case in Gaza, the first to suffer and die are often children.

According to the United Nations, nearly 1 in 3 people are going multiple days without eating and hospitals are reporting rising deaths from malnutrition and starvation. The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 600 people have been killed while trying to reach food aid at the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, The New York Times reported.

The risk is particularly great for children and pregnant women. Ross Smith, the director of emergency preparedness and response at the U.N. World Food Programme, reported that nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Doctors Without Borders said the two clinics it runs in Gaza were treating over 700 pregnant and breastfeeding women for malnutrition.

The Washington Post shared this sobering and traumatic story:

In Gaza City’s Sabra district, Ayat al-Soradi, 25, said she was so malnourished during her pregnancy this year that she gave birth to her twins, Ahmed and Mazen, two months early. They each weighed about two pounds, and for almost a month, she had watched over them in their incubators as the nurses fed them with powdered milk.

We must not shy away from the deadly reality facing millions in Gaza. Evidence of starvation has seemingly pushed the conversation around Gaza and Palestine to new levels in Israel, the U.S. and Europe.

In the United States last week, 27 Democratic senators, an unprecedented number, voted to block more than $675 million in offensive weapons sales to Israel. A similar vote garnered only 15 Democratic senators in April 2025, down from 18 in November 2024.

I’m currently in Europe, where the conditional commitment to recognize a Palestinian state by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is front-page news. French President Emmanuel Macron has signaled plans to do the same. And now, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to recognize Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly in September — joined by a growing number of other countries. Their message is clear: If urgent commitments around humanitarian aid and the safety of Palestinians are not met, recognition will move forward. With neither Israel nor the U.S. providing these assurances, the recognition of a Palestinian state is now a moral imperative — one grounded in protecting both peoples.

While the recognition of the Palestinian state in this current moment is largely a symbolic action (given the reality of U.S. veto power in the U.N. and the illegal Israeli settlements that have violently encroached into Palestinian territory), it is an important step in the process of bringing about a tenable, fair and secure two-state solution or another alternative solution that recognizes the dignity and sovereignty of two peoples sharing the same land. While such a prospect may seem politically hopeless now, a just and meaningful sharing of the land is the only alternative to endless war and suffering for all — including the suffering that continues to fall most heavily on the Palestinian people.

There is widespread agreement that Hamas cannot be a part of a future Palestinian state, because of its terrorist atrocities and its rejection of a two-state solution. Likewise, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Israeli government would never accept a two-state solution and continues to carry out violent policies against civilians — including attacks on people waiting in line for food.

We must remember what terrorism truly means: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. By that definition, both sides are guilty.

A fair and just sharing of the land requires new leadership on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government is pushing for the annexation of the West Bank and complete control over Gaza, while Donald Trump has even suggested turning Gaza into a resort bearing his name.

Israel’s denial of the starvation in Gaza — and its refusal to take responsibility despite being the occupying power in full control — has created an international moral crossroads.

Governments hold the power here, and any U.N. resolution in September recognizing a Palestinian state can be vetoed by the United States.

But what if churches in the U.S. and around the world took the lead in recognizing a Palestinian state? That would send a clear moral message — the recognition and protection of the Palestinian people is a matter of faith and conscience, grounded in a commitment to sovereignty, security and multifaith pluralism for all. Elevating these moral truths in the public narrative is now essential. It may be the only path forward.

(The Rev. Jim Wallis is Archbishop Desmond Tutu chair and director of Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice and the author, most recently, of New York Times bestseller “The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of RNS.)