URGENT ACTION NOW
The World Food Programme’s emergency director, Ross Smith, likened the situation to some of the worst famines of the past century.
“This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra,” Smith said via video-link from Rome. “We need urgent action now.”
In a statement released ahead of the IPC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of distorting casualty figures and accused the group of looting food aid destined for Palestinian civilians.
“While the situation in Gaza is difficult and Israel has been working to ensure aid delivery, Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis,” the statement said.
“We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine. Unfortunately, Hamas … has been stealing aid from the Gaza population, many times by shooting Palestinians.”
As late as Sunday, Netanyahu had been insisting there was “no starvation in Gaza” but even his close international ally, US President Donald Trump, has now warned the situation appears to be “real starvation”.
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on Mar 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.
Then on Sunday, faced with a mounting international chorus of alarm, Israel began a series of “tactical pauses” while allowed aid trucks to cross two border crossings into Gaza, and Jordanian and Emirati planes to airdrop aid.
Shipments have ramped up, but for the IPC this effort will not prove enough unless aid agencies are granted “immediate, unimpeded” humanitarian access.
“Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip,” it said, warning that 16 children under the age of five had died of hunger since Jul 17.
“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” it said.
