Latest news with #Oxfam
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Oxfam Reaction To SOFI 2025 Report
In reaction to the United Nations' 2025 edition of "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" (SOFI) report launched today, showing only a slight progress in reducing hunger and warning that over half a billion people could be chronically hungry by 2030-nearly 60% of them in Africa - Emily Farr, Oxfam's Food and Economic Security Lead, said: "We are witnessing the collapse of a moral contract. While some regions have seen some modest gains, the world is veering dangerously off track, leaving the poorest and more vulnerable behind. As top donors, including the G7, push through a historic 28% cut to aid by 2026, 2.6 billion people -over a third of humanity -still cannot afford a healthy diet. These are not just statistics. These are lives unravelling and futures stolen. "This is not a crisis of scarcity - it is a crisis of inequality. Climate chaos, conflict unchecked, and broken policies-driven by greed and impunity-are tearing apart global food systems and entrenching inequality. In 2024 alone, billionaires' wealth soared by $2 trillion while poverty barely budged. Since 2015, the world's richest 1% have amassed $33.9 trillion - enough to end global poverty 22 times over. Yet hunger persists, not by accident, but by design. As fields flood and crops wither, aid is slashed, and a few corporate giants profit from the wreckage. Low-income countries are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create. While global food price inflation peaked at 13.6 percent, it soared to 30 percent in the poorest economies- wiping out household budgets and access to food. In Africa, 1 in 5 people remain chronically hungry, with women and children hit hardest by deep cuts in nutrition programs. "We cannot afford a global food system built on injustice and indifference. Despite a modest improvement, we are nowhere the pace needed to meet global goals. The tide can still be turned, but only if governments act with urgency and unity: restore gutted aid, crack down on food profiteers, and invest in local farmers and local food systems that feed people, not profit margins." Notes:
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Emirati and Jordanian planes drop food as Gazans starve
Zionists accused of using starvation as weapon GAZA: Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Zionist entity began a limited 'tactical pause' in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Zionist military said it had also begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory - making one drop of seven palettes - while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he characterized as UN 'lies' that his government was to blame for the dire humanitarian situation. The army also dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip'. UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the tactical pauses, saying he was in 'contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window'. But the UN's World Food Program said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were 'enduring famine-like conditions' that were already leading to deaths. The Zionist decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu's government to head off the risk of mass starvation in the territory. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging Netanyahu 'to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now.' Accusing the UN of fabricating 'pretexts and lies about (Zionist entity)' blocking aid, Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that 'there are secure routes' for aid. 'There have always been, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses,' he added. Since Zionist entity imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of 'mass starvation'. Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the UN and humanitarian agencies say Zionist restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled. The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tons of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Zionist entity, according to AFP journalists. The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Zionist entity's latest moves a 'welcome first step' but warned they could prove insufficient. 'Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,' she said. 'What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. 'We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.' In general, humanitarian officials are deeply skeptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. In Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her 'life's wish' was to simply feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily. Chaotic scenes broke out at the site where Zionist entity conducted its first food drop, witnesses told AFP. Samih Humeid, a 23-year-old from the Al-Karama neighborhood of Gaza City, said dozens of people had gathered to rush towards the palettes of supplies parachuted onto the area. 'It felt like a war, everyone trying to grab whatever they could. Hunger is merciless. The quantities were extremely limited, not enough even for a few people, because hunger is everywhere. I only managed to get three cans of fava beans,' he said. In a social media post, the Zionist military announced it had 'carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip'. AFP journalists saw Egyptian trucks crossing from Rafah, with cargo routed through Zionist entity's Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection before entering Gaza. The Zionist army's daily pause from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating - Al-Mawasi in the south, central Deir el-Balah and Gaza City in the north. Zionist entity said 'designated secure routes' would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine. The military said the measures should disprove 'the false claim of deliberate starvation'. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Zionist defense minister Yoav Gallant, citing 'reasonable grounds' to suspect war crimes including starvation - charges Zionist entity vehemently denies. Activists intercepted On Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defense agency, army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Separately, the Zionist navy brought an activist boat, the Handala operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, into the part of Ashdod, after intercepting and boarding it late Saturday to prevent it attempting to breach a maritime blockade of Gaza. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had met with 19 of the 21 detained activists and journalists from 10 countries. The other two detainees, dual US-Zionist entity nationals, had been transferred to Zionist police custody, the group said. Zionist entity launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Zionist campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. - AFP
Days of Palestine
a day ago
- Health
- Days of Palestine
Oxfam Blasts Israel's ‘Engineered Starvation' in Gaza
DaysofPal- In light of a worsening famine and expanding humanitarian crisis, Oxfam International has harshly condemned Israel's meager efforts to lift its blockade of Gaza and warned that current aid initiatives are dangerously inadequate. 'Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won't undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza,' said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's policy lead for Israel and Palestine. She stressed that only a full and immediate reopening of all land crossings, combined with a permanent ceasefire, can prevent further mass death. 'What's needed is the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, and safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire,' Khalidi added. 'Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture.' The organization's statement comes after the Israeli occupation forces allowed limited aid to be dropped by air over Gaza on Saturday night, measures widely seen by humanitarian agencies as symbolic and insufficient. Rachel Cummings, humanitarian director at Save the Children UK, echoed Oxfam's criticism. She called air drops random and inefficient, noting that each one delivers the equivalent of just a single truckload of aid. 'We need to enable the United Nations system to manage distribution operations. As humanitarian agencies, we know how to distribute aid safely and humanely,' she said in an interview with ABC News. Cummings described the situation in Gaza as catastrophic: 'Children are starving. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from malnutrition. Aid must reach people by land.' The warnings come amid mounting international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where famine is tightening its grip across the territory. Since Israel's total closure of all crossings on March 2, the entry of food and medical supplies has effectively stopped. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 133 Palestinians have died of starvation and malnutrition since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, including 87 children. Humanitarian groups warn that more than 100,000 children are now at risk of severe hunger or death. Oxfam, Save the Children, and other humanitarian organizations are urging the international community to press Israel to fully lift its blockade and allow sustained, land-based delivery of aid. Shortlink for this post:
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Orban says Trump 'ate' EU chief 'for breakfast' in trade talks
01:40 28/07/2025 Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland, with trade and Gaza on agenda Europe 28/07/2025 Syria: France 24 gains rare access to war-torn Sweida after deadly clashes 28/07/2025 Gaza: Humanitarian aid starts trickling in after a four-month blockade Middle East 28/07/2025 Oxfam: 'It's an engineered starvation campaign against civilians, women and children, in Gaza Strip' Middle East 28/07/2025 Ukraine: Former POWs struggle to rebuild their lives 28/07/2025 Israel begins daily pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas to allow 'minimal' aid as hunger grows 28/07/2025 US and EU strike deal with 15% tariff to avert trade war 28/07/2025 Euro 2025 final: England beat Spain in penalty shootout 28/07/2025 Turkey battles wildfires amid strong winds, heatwave
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Syria: France 24 gains rare access to war-torn Sweida after deadly clashes
03:23 28/07/2025 Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland, with trade and Gaza on agenda Europe 28/07/2025 Gaza: Humanitarian aid starts trickling in after a four-month blockade Middle East 28/07/2025 Oxfam: 'It's an engineered starvation campaign against civilians, women and children, in Gaza Strip' Middle East 28/07/2025 Ukraine: Former POWs struggle to rebuild their lives 28/07/2025 Israel begins daily pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas to allow 'minimal' aid as hunger grows 28/07/2025 US and EU strike deal with 15% tariff to avert trade war 28/07/2025 Euro 2025 final: England beat Spain in penalty shootout 28/07/2025 Turkey battles wildfires amid strong winds, heatwave 28/07/2025 Thai, Cambodian leaders hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia
