'Worst-case scenario of famine' under way in Gaza, say UN-backed experts
The alert, still short of a formal famine declaration, follows an outcry over images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war. On Tuesday the UN's World Food Programme said the mass starvation in the Palestinian enclave was reminiscent of the famines in Ethiopia and Biafra in the 20th century.
"This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century," WFP emergency director Ross Smith told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Rome, insisting that "we need urgent action now".
The international pressure led Israel over the weekend to announce measures, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. The United Nations and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm and unload delivery trucks before they can reach their destinations.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel.
A formal famine declaration, which is rare, requires the kind of data that the lack of access to Gaza and mobility within has largely denied. The IPC has only declared famine a few times – in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudan's western Darfur region last year.
But independent experts say they don't need a formal declaration to know what they're seeing in Gaza.
'Just as a family physician can often diagnose a patient she's familiar with based on visible symptoms without having to send samples to the lab and wait for results, so too we can interpret Gaza's symptoms. This is famine,' Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told The Associated Press.
An area is classified as in famine when all three of the following conditions are confirmed:
At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. At least 30% of children six months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height. And at least two people or four children under 5 per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
The report is based on available information through July 25 and says the crisis has reached 'an alarming and deadly turning point.' It says data indicate that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza – at its lowest level since the war began – and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. The report says nearly 17 out of every 100 children under the age of 5 in Gaza City are acutely malnourished.
Gaza: 'It's an engineered starvation campaign against civilians, women and children' (Oxfam)
08:50
Mounting evidence shows 'widespread starvation". Essential health and other services have collapsed. One in three people in Gaza is going without food for days at a time, according to the World Food Program. Hospitals report a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under 5. Gaza's population of over 2 million has been squeezed into increasingly tiny areas of the devastated territory.
The IPC's latest analysis in May warned that Gaza will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Its new alert calls for immediate and large-scale action and warns: 'Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip.'
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Israel eased those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead with a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. The traditional, UN-led aid providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while criminals and hungry crowds swarm entering convoys.
While Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza, UN agencies and aid groups say even the latest humanitarian measures are not enough to counter the worsening starvation. In a statement Monday, Doctors Without Borders called the new airdrops ineffective and dangerous, saying they deliver less aid than trucks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said no one is starving in Gaza and that Israel has supplied enough aid throughout the war, 'otherwise, there would be no Gazans". Israel's military on Monday criticised what it calls 'false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza".
Israel's closest ally now appears to disagree. 'Those children look very hungry,' President Donald Trump said Monday of the images from Gaza in recent days.
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WHO chief says continuous medical aid into Gaza 'critical'
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Euronews
3 days ago
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'Worst-case scenario of famine' unfolding in Gaza, UN-backed body says
Famine is now unfolding in Gaza, the leading global authority on food crises said on Tuesday, predicting "widespread death" without immediate action. "The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip," said the alert by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths. Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip." The IPC alert falls short of a formal famine declaration, and the monitor said it would conduct further analysis "without delay". It follows an outcry over photos of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of the Israel-Hamas war. The global pressure led Israel over the weekend to announce measures, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. The UN and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm and unload delivery trucks before they reach their destinations. Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have "dramatically worsened" the situation, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel, according to the IPC. Starvation, malnutrition and death An area is classified as in famine when at least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, more than 30% of children under 5 are acutely malnourished, and two people or four children per 10,000 are dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease. The IPC has only declared famine a handful of times — in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudan's western Darfur region last year. The monitor's latest alert said famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza, and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. Essential health and other services have collapsed in the war-torn Palestinian enclave, where more than 2 million people remain. Hospitals report a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under 5. One in three people is going without food for days at a time, according to the UN World Food Programme. "Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering," the IPC alert said. The IPC's Famine Review Committee, which independently analyses and verifies the monitor's findings, supported the latest alert for Gaza on Tuesday. "Although the extreme lack of humanitarian access hinders comprehensive data collection, it is clear from available evidence that starvation, malnutrition, and mortality are rapidly accelerating," it said. Israeli measures criticised Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, in a bid to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages it took during the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel. Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of using humanitarian aid as a means of war profiteering and further strengthening itself, which the militant group denies. Those measures were eased in May, but Israel also pushed ahead with a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been hindered by chaos and violence. The traditional, UN-led humanitarian providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while people crowd around entering convoys. The IPC alert said 88% of Gaza is within militarised areas or under evacuation orders. "People's access to food across Gaza is now alarmingly erratic and extremely perilous," it said. While Israel has said there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza, aid groups say the latest humanitarian measures are insufficient to tackle the worsening starvation. In a statement on Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called the new airdrops ineffective and dangerous, saying that they deliver less aid than trucks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said no one is starving in Gaza and that enough aid has been supplied during the war, "otherwise, there would be no Gazans". The army on Monday criticised what it calls "false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza". However, Israel's closest ally now appears to disagree. On Monday, US President Donald Trump contradicted Israel's stance by saying that there was "real starvation" in Gaza. Speaking during a visit to Scotland, Trump said the US would set up food centres without any fences or boundaries, and also suggested that Israel could improve aid access. Separately on Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll from Israel's war in Gaza had risen to more than 60,000 Palestinians. Its figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Israeli military stated nearly 900 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
'Worst-case scenario of famine' under way in Gaza, say UN-backed experts
The 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,' the leading international authority on food crises said in a new alert Tuesday, predicting 'widespread death' without immediate action. The alert, still short of a formal famine declaration, follows an outcry over images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war. On Tuesday the UN's World Food Programme said the mass starvation in the Palestinian enclave was reminiscent of the famines in Ethiopia and Biafra in the 20th century. "This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century," WFP emergency director Ross Smith told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Rome, insisting that "we need urgent action now". The international pressure led Israel over the weekend to announce measures, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. The United Nations and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm and unload delivery trucks before they can reach their destinations. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel. A formal famine declaration, which is rare, requires the kind of data that the lack of access to Gaza and mobility within has largely denied. The IPC has only declared famine a few times – in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudan's western Darfur region last year. But independent experts say they don't need a formal declaration to know what they're seeing in Gaza. 'Just as a family physician can often diagnose a patient she's familiar with based on visible symptoms without having to send samples to the lab and wait for results, so too we can interpret Gaza's symptoms. This is famine,' Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told The Associated Press. An area is classified as in famine when all three of the following conditions are confirmed: At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. At least 30% of children six months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height. And at least two people or four children under 5 per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease. The report is based on available information through July 25 and says the crisis has reached 'an alarming and deadly turning point.' It says data indicate that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza – at its lowest level since the war began – and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. The report says nearly 17 out of every 100 children under the age of 5 in Gaza City are acutely malnourished. Gaza: 'It's an engineered starvation campaign against civilians, women and children' (Oxfam) 08:50 Mounting evidence shows 'widespread starvation". Essential health and other services have collapsed. One in three people in Gaza is going without food for days at a time, according to the World Food Program. Hospitals report a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under 5. Gaza's population of over 2 million has been squeezed into increasingly tiny areas of the devastated territory. The IPC's latest analysis in May warned that Gaza will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Its new alert calls for immediate and large-scale action and warns: 'Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip.' Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages. Israel eased those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead with a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. The traditional, UN-led aid providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while criminals and hungry crowds swarm entering convoys. While Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza, UN agencies and aid groups say even the latest humanitarian measures are not enough to counter the worsening starvation. In a statement Monday, Doctors Without Borders called the new airdrops ineffective and dangerous, saying they deliver less aid than trucks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said no one is starving in Gaza and that Israel has supplied enough aid throughout the war, 'otherwise, there would be no Gazans". Israel's military on Monday criticised what it calls 'false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza". Israel's closest ally now appears to disagree. 'Those children look very hungry,' President Donald Trump said Monday of the images from Gaza in recent days.
