UN-backed experts officially declare famine in Gaza
On Friday, the United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza. This is the first in the Middle East. According to UN-backed experts, people in and around Gaza City are in a "catastrophic" situation.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed initiative that classifies the severity of food insecurity, said on Friday that the situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated to Phase 5, the most severe.
Famine prevails in the Gaza governorate, including Gaza City, the IPC report states. The regions of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis are at risk of famine by the end of September, the organisation warns. That means over 600,000 people will face starvation.
"Man-made famine"
The famine is "entirely man-made" and "can be halted and reversed," the IPC says. “There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that an immediate, at-scale response is needed. Any further delay – even by days – will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality."
Israel is blocking international organisations from delivering aid supplies to Gaza. The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - supported by both Israel and the US - has taken over, but is failing to distribute a sufficient amount of food. The IPC report also denounces the repeated killing of civilians while trying to access food deliveries.
The IPC stopped short of declaring a famine until now because of a lack of hard data. It only declares a famine if at least one in five households face an extreme lack of food, at least 30 per cent of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition and two people for every 10,000 die each day due to starvation.
Israel denies findings
Israel disputes the IPC's findings. In a statement on Friday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry called the report "biased" and "based on lies from Hamas". "The IPC just published a tailor-made report to fit Hamas’s fake campaign," a post on X states.
Several NGOs have already responded to the news. "The famine in Gaza is entirely caused by Israel's almost total blockade of food and essential aid, the horrific consequences of Israel's violence and the use of starvation as a weapon of war," said Oxfam. "All of this is part of Israel's genocide."
"All of this is part of Israel's genocide"
In a joint statement, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the conflict "to allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives".
PHOTO © Eyad BABA / AFP
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