Abstract Sudan and Gaza are facing two of the most severe humanitarian emergencies globally. Years of brutal conflicts, recurrent displacements, and devastations have crippled food systems, consequently plunging the people into extreme hunger and restrictions on aid access. This commentary discusses the weaponization of food and the hindrance to humanitarian support through sieges, bureaucratic impedance, and attacks on aid workers and infrastructure. With millions of people starving and health systems collapsing, we urgently call upon the international community to implement decisive, systemic reforms. Immediate accountability, accelerated reform of global aid systems, and rapid emergency measures to restore food supply chains and protect civilians are imperative. The cost of delay is measured in lost lives; decisive action must not wait.
Badri et al. (2026) studied this question.