More than 1 in 5 people in the Gaza Strip are “facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity” amid Israel’s relentless assault and siege against the Palestinian territory, according to a draft report set to be published Tuesday by the United Nations’ hunger monitoring system.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Acute Food Insecurity Special Snapshot – which was previewed by various news agencies – says that more than 495,000 Gazans – who already face “an extreme lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion” – are expected to suffer the highest level of starvation over the coming months.
The draft report states that while a sharp increase in food aid in northern Gaza in March and April can be credited with “likely averting a famine,” the situation is “deteriorating again following renewed hostilities.”
“A high risk of famine persists across the whole of the Gaza Strip as long as conflict continues and humanitarian access is restricted,” IPC noted.
The IPC draft report also says more than half of all Gaza households had to sell or swap clothing in order to obtain food, and that the majority of Gazan families often “do not have any food to eat in the house, and over 20% go entire days and nights without eating.”
“The population cannot endure these hardships any longer.”
Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, an Oregon-based humanitarian NGO, told The Guardian that “people are enduring subhuman conditions resorting to desperate measures like boiling weeds, eating animal feed, and exchanging clothes for money to stave off hunger and keep their children alive.”
“The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly, and the specter of famine continues to hang over Gaza,” she added. “The international community must apply relentless pressure to achieve a cease-fire and ensure sustained humanitarian access now. The population cannot endure these hardships any longer.”
Although the IPC stopped short of the rare step of declaring a famine in Gaza, it warned that “the recent trajectory is negative and highly unstable.”
“Should this continue, the improvements seen in April could be rapidly reversed,” the agency added.
The IPC’s famine review panel previously said there is not enough data to make a determination on whether there is a famine in Gaza since research was being blocked by “conflict and humanitarian access constraints.”
The Geneva-based group Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Monday that “the Famine Review Committee’s inability to declare the current food situation in the Gaza Strip to be a famine does not negate the existence of famine in the strip, as pockets of famine are forming and spreading among different age groups, particularly children, and there is a noticeable increase in deaths from hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases.”
“The committee’s failure to declare the existence of a famine is solely related to its inability to provide certain technical information because of illegal Israeli restrictions and policies that aim to conceal evidence related to the crimes it commits and prevent criminal investigations into them by independent U.N. and international committees, particularly by preventing these committees from entering the strip,” the group added.
U.N. World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said last month that “full-blown famine” had taken hold in Gaza and was spreading south. According to Gaza officials, at least 40 people – mostly children – have died from malnutrition and dehydration during the 262-day Israeli onslaught. Almost all of the victims are from northern Gaza.
A very useful – but thoroughly depressing – article on the effects of hunger and how measurements/assessments are made during conflicts regarding food insecurity. Hopefully the new IPC analysis on Gaza (expected tomorrow) shows some improvement.https://t.co/whbxePArya
— Marc Schack (@marcschack) June 24, 2024
Israel began bombing, and later invaded, Gaza after Hamas-led attacks left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead and over 240 others kidnapped on October 7. At least some of the victims were killed by Israeli forces in so-called “friendly fire” incidents, according to Israeli and international media reports.
Since then, Israeli forces have killed at least 37,626 Palestinians – most of them women and children – in Gaza, while wounding over 86,000 others, according to Palestinian and international agencies. At least 11,000 people, including over 4,000 children, are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out homes and other buildings.
Michael Fakhri, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food and a law professor at the University of Oregon, said in late February that Israel is committing genocide by intentionally starving Gazans. Israel’s siege – and Israeli attacks on humanitarian aid shipments, workers, and recipients – are being reviewed by the International Court of Justice as part of a South Africa-led genocide case backed by over 30 countries and regional blocs.
Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for Common Dreams. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at CommonDreams and is reprinted with the author’s permission.
Why is the UN all TALK, why can't they send UN Troops to deliver/monitor food shipments in Gaza? Doing nothing, but saying Israel has to stop, is pointless. Israel does NOT believe in Humanity, does not believe in decency, does not believe in the Rule of Law and the same is true for all so called Democracies. Someone who has courage needs to STOP Israel!
There’s no such thing as “UN troops.” Troops operating under UN auspices or command are always provided by specific nation-states.
But seing as how both the ICJ and UN Security Council have ordered a ceasefire, it seems like any UN member state would be legit if it went in and enforced that ceasefire. Perhaps Turkey might be interested in putting its money where its mouth is?
This is a very good point.
I just do not know if US would support this. Israel will have to stop its military operation in order to prevent the peacekeeping becoming a war with Israel. And in that case, will US defend Israel? Turkiye is definitelly the best candidate.
"I just do not know if US would support this" The US would not. Nor would Israel accept Turkiye troops on its border.
"any UN member state would be legit if it went in and enforced that ceasefire" Legit maybe, practically not possible. That simply not going to happen with out the UN go ahead which will not happen without US approval.
The UN already gave the go-ahead in the form of the ceasefire resolution.
All that's needed is a state with the testicular fortitude and the military ability to enforce that resolution.
The US doesn't seem inclined to do so.
Russia's busy.
I suppose China might be interested in showcasing its increasing ability to project force over the horizon.
US can stop this immediately if it wanted to. But we do not want to. Israel is us. We are Israel.
Courage to stop this? Not in UN for as long as US has veto power. Any other country trying to stop this? It will be in war with US.
All masks are off. Nowhere to hide from the truth.
There is a new explanation for starvation. Hundreds of trucks came in via pier, but according to CNN food remains UNCOLLECTED.
And who is supposed to COLLECT it? All aagencies, starting from UNRWA, to WFP or any other food distribution agency has been deliberately targeted. No food allowed via land crossings ftrom Israel. Rafah crossing destroyed by Israel.
Any need for sanitizing the information? Why just not honestly admit. We are starving oeople to death by fully supporting Israel and its barbaric policies. US is the only country in the world that can stop it immediatelly. If it wanted to.
It doesn't want to. It does, as exemplified by a former UN ambassador representing the US in the most important international forum, want to sign bombs and missiles to "finish off" Palestinian children, not per se to prevent them from dying hungerdeaths that way. That's fine too. Other honorable elected representatives prefer nuclear weapons to murder faster. This is how they answer when asking themselves: what would Jesus do?
Hamas is more interested in killing Israel troops than the health of their own. They simply don't care. As long as Hamas values death IDF troops and good international PR over Gaza residents the war will continue.