Latest news with #OCHA
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
BBC Audio Tom Fletcher
Tom Fletcher heads the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and has been at the forefront of recent efforts to deliver aid into Gaza. Last week, he was criticised for making inaccurate claims about the impact of the Israeli blockade. No stranger to tough jobs, he was previously a foreign policy advisor to three British Prime Ministers and the UK Ambassador to Lebanon as the country dealt with the civil war in neighbouring Syria. He once fought the mayor of Nairobi in a boxing match and had a mortar round land in his swimming pool at the British embassy in Beirut. One of four siblings, he was born in Folkestone, where he attended the Harvey Grammar School before studying at Oxford University. Prior to his UN role he was Principal of Hertford College and has written books on diplomacy as well as novels. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Tom Gillett, Lucy Pawle and Jo Casserly Editor: Nick Holland Sound: Gareth Jones Production Coordinator: Sabine Schereck
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Dozens of UN food lorries 'blocked and emptied by Palestinians'; Hamas submits response to ceasefire proposal
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaza has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Dozens of UN food lorries 'blocked and emptied by Palestinians'
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaza has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
UN warns of Gaza famine risk
AFP | Gaza The UN warned yesterday that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine, as Israel vowed to build a 'Jewish Israeli state' in the occupied West Bank. Israel has faced mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN says only a trickle of aid has been allowed in after a more than two-month blockade. Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resum-ing operations in March following a short-lived truce. Israel has meanwhile doubled down on its settlement expansion in the West Bank, while defying calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders for a two-state solution. Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, yesterday called Gaza 'the hungriest place on earth'. 'It's the only defined area -- a country or defined territory within a country -- where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred percent of the population at risk of famine,' he said. Recent AFPTV footage has shown chaotic scenes as large crowds of Palestinians desperate for food rushed to a limited number of aid distribution centres to pick up supplies. Israel recently intensified its Gaza offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas, drawing sharp inter-national criticism, including from allies such as Britain and Germany. 'Crusade' against Israel This week Israel announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank. London called the move a 'deliberate obstacle' to Palestinian statehood, and UN chief Antonio Guterres' spokesman said it pushed efforts towards a two-state solution 'in the wrong direction'. Yesterday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a 'Jewish Israeli state' in the Palestinian territory which Israel has occupied since 1967. 'This is a decisive response to the terrorist organisations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land,' Katz said in a video published by his office. Israeli settlements in the West Bank -- considered illegal under international law -- are seen as a major obstacle to a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Katz framed the move as a direct rebuke to Macron and others pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state. Macron has recently stepped up his statements in support of the Palestinians, asserting yesterday that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was 'not only a moral duty, but a political necessity'. Macron confirmed he would personally attend a conference France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia at the UN in June aimed at reviving the two-state solution. Israel yesterday accused the French president of undertaking a 'crusade against the Jewish state'. The foreign ministry said that 'instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state'. 'Go in with full force' Negotiations aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza have continued, meanwhile, with the White House announcing Thursday that Israel had 'signed off' on a new ceasefire proposal submitted to Hamas. The Palestinian militant group, however, said the deal failed to satisfy its demands, stopping short of rejecting it out-right.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Israel blocks meeting over independent Palestinian state
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaa has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Mr Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Mr Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
