Cairo: Egypt dispatched its 21st humanitarian convoy to Gaza on Sunday, August 24, 2025, as famine takes hold of the enclave and the number of starvation deaths continues to rise under Israel's blockade.According to State Information Service Egypt, the convoy is part of the 'Zad El-Ezza: From Egypt to Gaza' initiative launched by the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) on 27 July. It carried food, medical supplies, baby formula, flour, oil, sugar, cheese, and other essential goods, joining 20 previous convoys sent in the past three weeks.On Friday, the United Nations' (UN) Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared a famine in Gaza - "the first ever recorded in the Middle East" - warning that half a million Palestinians face 'catastrophic' food insecurity. Roughly a quarter of the population is at immediate risk of starvation, while 281 people - including 114 children - have already died of hunger, according to the Palestinian health ministry.Egypt has since expressed its "deep concern" and re iterated its rejection of Israel's 'collective punishment' of Gaza's population and demanded accountability for violations of international law. Since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, they have severely restricted humanitarian access through the border.Israel imposed a total blockade on 2 March, cutting off food, fuel, water, and aid, manufacturing famine in Gaza over the following five months. Only in late July - after global outrage - did Tel Aviv begin allowing a trickle of supplies in, through the Israeli-controlled Karam Abu Salem crossing, with Egypt pushing trucks through under tight restrictions and often facing obstruction by the occupation.Over 5,000 trucks remain stuck on the Egyptian side of Rafah. The UN estimates that 600 to 800 trucks are needed daily to sustain Gaza's population, a figure far from being met. Since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, occupation forces have killed over 62,000 Palestinians, the majority women an d children.In the same period, Egypt has facilitated the entry of over 45,000 aid trucks carrying some 500,000 tonnes of goods - 368,000 tonnes from Egypt itself and 132,000 from other countries.