What caused ‘human-made hunger crisis' in Gaza: UNRWA's senior official explains

Indian Express

3 days ago

An estimated 50 people were shot at and injured in Rafah this week after thousands of Palestinians desperate for food swarmed an aid distribution site operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an NGO backed by the US and Israel.
Gaza had been under a total blockade for almost three months until this week. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said it cannot work with GHF. Jake Wood, head of GHF, quit on May 25, saying its work was not in accordance with 'humanitarian principles'.
Is famine imminent in Gaza?
Since the assessment of the [UN-backed] Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) came out [on May 12], the situation has worsened every day. There is a human-made hunger crisis in Gaza. Our colleagues there tell us that if a mother manages to get a piece of bread, she breaks it in half to give some to the children, and saves the rest for tomorrow.
Even before the [January 19 to March 18] ceasefire [between Hamas and Israel], there were famine-like conditions in pockets of Gaza as the amount of aid that was allowed to enter was pitiful compared to the needs.
The ceasefire allowed international organisations and NGOs to scale up aid to the minimum required level, which helped stave off hunger in the initial days. But as soon as the blockade began [on March 2] and the ceasefire collapsed, these organisations began to ration the aid. No aid was allowed for nearly 11 weeks, which led to food insecurity.
This is against international humanitarian law. One cannot starve populations as part of a military goal (Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions). Israel cannot use food as leverage to get hostages released.
On May 26, Israel said 665 aid trucks had entered Gaza. The head of the UN's World Food Programme said this was a 'drop in the bucket'. What is the minimum aid that Gaza needs?
The minimum number of trucks required in Gaza for survival needs is 500 to 600 per day. There is a lot of uncertainty around the actual numbers of trucks that have reached the Strip in recent days. Before the ceasefire, the Israeli rules for inspection were that trucks had to arrive half-empty in Gaza. I am not saying that is what is happening right now, but this is a possibility.
Why have the UN and other aid agencies refused to work with GHF?
Under the new distribution system, pockets have been created where people can come to collect aid. This is incompatible with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Aid has to go to people who need it, wherever they may be. Otherwise it would exclude people who have disabilities, who are injured, or are unable to move easily.
Limiting aid distribution to restricted collection points also risks augmenting the forced displacement of the population. People in Gaza have already been displaced once a month on average since the start of the war. They are being squashed into supposed safe zones, which are not safe at all.
What is the situation like for aid workers in Gaza now?
Gaza is currently the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers. Our staff, who are overwhelmingly Palestinian, have been dying regularly since the beginning of this war. (More than 400 aid workers, including more than 300 UNRWA staffers, have been killed so far.) There is no precedent for such a high number of UN staff being killed in any conflict since the organisation was formed in 1945.
We have repeatedly seen the failure of proportionality. International humanitarian law says decisions must be based on the proportional potential impact on non-combatants. One cannot bomb a camp full of displaced people to kill five combatants, or target aid workers, hospitals, schools.
Aid workers are also facing the hunger crisis in Gaza. They too are losing their relatives. Our colleagues have pulled the bodies of their children from under the rubble; some have been unable to even retrieve the bodies.
How has Israel's ban on UNRWA's operations impacted its work?
The two laws passed in October 2024 came into effect at the end of January. The first prohibited UNRWA from operating in Israel's sovereign territory. This impacted UNRWA's operations in East Jerusalem, which is an occupied territory in the eyes of international law.
Visas of international UNRWA staff were curtailed; they had to vacate the organisation's facility in East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities forcibly closed UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, denying around 800 students their right to education. There is a fear that UNRWA clinics, on which some 70,000 Palestinians depend, will be shut down.
The second law, which barred contact between UNRWA and Israeli officials, has severely impacted operations in the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA had a formal line of communication with the Israeli military, which helped in certain situations such as when children needed to be evacuated from school in case of a nearby military operation. This does not happen now.
What is UNRWA's role currently in Gaza?
UNRWA is not banned from operating in Gaza as the law prohibits operations only in Israel's sovereign territories. UNRWA is the largest humanitarian agency working in the Strip; it has 12,000 members there; the rest of the UN system has 300.
It also has a large logistical network including several warehouses for aid. It has set up mobile healthcare points, its staff go from tent to tent to treat patients.
More than 20,000 children are part of UNRWA's 'Back to Learning' initiative, which has play activities, psychosocial social support, basic literacy, numeracy, etc. UNRWA's sanitation labourers collect trash and clean refugee camps. UNRWA does not run these camps, only provides facilities and services in them.
UNRWA 'as a whole' has been accused of being 'a haven for Hamas' radical ideology'. How does it ensure that its operations and staff remain neutral?
There are solid mechanisms to deal with people who breach or allegedly breach UN impartiality rules. Whenever allegations have emerged, staff have been sanctioned depending on the nature of breaches of neutrality.
If there are allegations against a dozen staff members or even 50, they are not representative of the entire organisation, which has 30,000 people.
Last year, the Israelis made allegations against 19 staff members. UNRWA immediately moved to suspend them, and handed over investigations to the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services. The Office struggled to get any evidence from the Israeli authorities. In nine cases, it was felt that there was a sufficient balance of probability that the staff may have been involved in some unspecified breaches of neutrality. Their termination was upheld.
What role can countries like India play in the crisis in Gaza?
Any country that believes in the importance of multilateralism needs to advocate for international law, and decisions of the International Court of Justice and UN General Assembly, to be upheld in Gaza. Multilateralism is not perfect, but it is the best system that currently exists. If it is destroyed, the world will become much more dangerous.
Jonathan Fowler is Senior Communications Manager, UNRWA. He spoke on Zoom with Alind Chauhan. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.