Latest news with #IntegratedFoodSecurityPhaseClassification


Days of Palestine
a day ago
- General
- Days of Palestine
One in Three Gazans Go Days Without Food, Warns UN Official
DaysofPal – Senior UN officials have expressed concern about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating that the amount of hunger and suffering there is unprecedented. Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters following a recent visit to Gaza, Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), described the situation as 'worse than I have ever seen before,' both in terms of need and the near-total collapse of humanitarian access. 'The entire population is food insecure,' Skau said, citing recent data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. 'Half a million people are facing extreme hunger, and the situation has only worsened since that report was published.' He added that 90,000 children in Gaza now urgently need treatment for malnutrition. 'One in three people are going entire days without eating,' Skau said. 'Mothers told me they try to stop their children from playing, just to save the little energy their bodies can manage on the few spoonfuls of food they get.' Many families, he said, survive on nothing more than hot water with lentils or scraps of pasta. Children Starve While Aid Waits at the Border Skau emphasized that humanitarian agencies, including the WFP, are ready and able to deliver life-saving aid but are being obstructed by severe access restrictions. 'We have enough food stockpiled at the border to feed everyone in Gaza for two months,' he said. 'But we can't get it in.' 'For a time, after some easing of the blockade, we were able to bring in 20 to 30 trucks a day, which is nowhere near enough. When I visited, a kilo of wheat flour was selling for over $25. These are prices no one can afford.' He noted that, for the first time in days, a small aid delivery was allowed through the Zikim crossing into northern Gaza. 'But we need all routes open, from Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, and we need safety guarantees for aid workers and civilians alike.' Skau's testimony was echoed by Tom Fletcher, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who painted a stark picture of the horrors unfolding inside the besieged territory. 'People in Gaza are facing death, injury, displacement, and the stripping away of their dignity,' Fletcher said. 'We are seeing civilians killed while waiting in line for food. That is not a debate; that is a war crime.' Fletcher underscored Israel's obligations as the occupying power under international law: 'Israel must ensure access to food and medicine for the population. That is not a choice; it's a legal duty. But that's simply not happening.' The Collapse of Normal Life The situation, both officials said, defies description. 'We're running out of words,' Fletcher admitted. 'Food is vanishing. People who ask for it risk being shot. Field hospitals are receiving the dead while hearing the same stories from the wounded every day. Parents are watching their children die not from bombs, but from starvation.' Both Skau and Fletcher stressed the urgency of a ceasefire, not just to stop the killing, but to allow humanitarian lifelines into Gaza before even more lives are lost to preventable hunger. 'We have enough food at the border to feed the entire population for about two months,' Skau said. 'But it is clear that we need a ceasefire.' He emphasized the need to open all roads from Jordan, Egypt, and Israel and to ensure security conditions that allow aid delivery to reach those most in need. 'We want to be able to deliver in the north,' he added, referring to the newly reopened Zikim crossing, 'because we believe that is the only way to help reduce levels of despair and prices.' Shortlink for this post:


The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
WFP faces 274-mln-USD funding shortfall for humanitarian aids in South Sudan
JUBA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Wednesday warned of a funding shortage hindering humanitarian efforts in South Sudan. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, country director for the WFP in South Sudan, said the agency is facing a 274 million U.S. dollar shortfall in funding for food aid to help vulnerable South Sudanese. "We are reducing the level of assistance. We are reducing the rations. In most of our programs now, we are only giving about 50 percent of what is required, except in those cases that are very high risk, at the risk of famine where we give a 70 percent ration," McGroarty told reporters in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. She said the WFP originally planned 750 million dollars in food aid for South Sudan this year, which was later revised to 630 million dollars, still leaving a shortfall of 274 million dollars to meet the target. McGroarty said the situation in the country is driven by the absence of livelihoods, poverty, floods, climate shocks, and ongoing conflict. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), over half of South Sudan's population is experiencing severe food insecurity. With clear signs of famine risk in specific areas and a widespread crisis elsewhere, the situation demands urgent, multi-sector humanitarian intervention to prevent further deterioration and loss of life, the WFP said.


New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
More than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry, including over 1 million children, UN says
UNITED NATIONS: More than 17 million people in conflict-torn Yemen are going hungry, including over a million children under the age of 5 who are suffering from 'life-threatening acute malnutrition,' the United Nations humanitarian chief said Wednesday. Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council that the food security crisis in the Arab world's poorest country, which is beset by civil war, has been accelerating since late 2023. The number of people going hungry could climb to over 18 million by September, he warned, and the number of children with acute malnutrition could surge to 1.2 million early next year, 'leaving many at risk of permanent physical and cognitive damage.' According to experts who produce the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority that ranks the severity of hunger, more than 17,000 Yemenis are in the three worst categories of food insecurity — crisis stage or worse. Fletcher said the UN hasn't seen the current level of deprivation since before a UN-brokered truce in early 2022. He noted that it is unfolding as global funding for humanitarian aid is plummeting, which means reductions or cuts in food. According to the U.N., as of mid-May, the U.N.'s $2.5 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen this year had received just $222 million, just 9%. Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the government. The war has devastated Yemen, created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and turned into a stalemated proxy conflict. More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed.


Days of Palestine
07-07-2025
- General
- Days of Palestine
Khan Younis: Gaza's Breadbasket Turns into Wasteland
DayofPal– Farming in Khan Younis was never just a profession; it was a way of life. For generations, this southern Gaza city was known as the 'breadbasket' of the Strip, feeding its people with fresh vegetables, fruits, and poultry. But today, that legacy lies in ruins. Since the start of Israel's ongoing military assault in late 2023, Khan Younis has been reduced to rubble. Fertile lands have become craters, greenhouses lie in twisted heaps of metal, and the farmers who once cultivated the land now live as displaced refugees. The city has been all but erased from Gaza's agricultural map, a devastating blow to the Strip's already fragile food security. According to data from the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as of July 2025, over 61.5% of Khan Younis's farmland has been either destroyed or rendered unusable. For Khalil Abu Hamed, a farmer from New Abasan, the loss is deeply personal. 'I used to grow tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini on five dunams,' he told Palestine Newspaper. 'It was my only source of income. Now I'm living in a tent with my family in the Mawasi area. My house is gone. My land is gone. The Israelis destroyed everything, I couldn't even save my irrigation system or farming tools.' Abu Salim Al-Najjar, another farmer, lost his poultry farm, one of the largest in the Mawasi region. 'More than 15,000 birds died in just two weeks,' he said. 'The bombing destroyed the shelters. We ran out of feed and water. We used to supply half of Gaza's poultry. Now I don't even have a place to live.' Their stories reflect a far grimmer and more widespread reality of the current war. According to the FAO, more than 80% of Gaza's farmland has suffered direct damage. Over 71% of greenhouses have been destroyed, and nearly 83% of irrigation wells are no longer operational. In Khan Younis alone, approximately 2,600 hectares of cultivated land have been obliterated. Access to what remains is nearly impossible, blocked by military zones, rubble, or the threat of attack. Agricultural and environmental expert Nizar Al-Wahidi says Khan Younis is no longer Gaza's agricultural heartland, but a 'critical weak point' in the food security system. 'The eastern part of the governorate, where most open fields and greenhouses were located, has been systematically bulldozed,' Al-Wahidi told Palestine Newspaper. 'The western part has been paralyzed by mass displacement. Even the Mawasi area, once the largest poultry hub in Gaza, has been devastated, causing a dangerous shortage of animal protein.' The impact of this destruction, Al-Wahidi warns, will be felt for months, if not years. 'Gaza's agricultural sector is on the brink of total collapse,' he said. 'Without immediate recovery efforts, the consequences will be catastrophic.' The numbers back up his warning. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 93% of Gaza's population is currently facing some level of food insecurity. Of those, 44% are classified as being in an 'emergency' state, while 12% are in outright 'catastrophe.' These levels are directly linked to the destruction of Gaza's food production and the collapse of supply chains, the result of sustained Israeli military actions. Shortlink for this post:


Middle East Eye
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Hamas gives Israel-backed gang leader in Gaza 10 days to surrender
Hamas has given the leader of an Israel-backed armed gang in Gaza 10 days to surrender, citing his involvement in looting aid deliveries. The Revolutionary Court of the Military Judiciary Authority said Yasser Abu Shabab, the 35-year-old leader of the Popular Forces, would stand trial over charges of treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang and armed rebellion. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted to arming the Popular Forces, which aid groups have accused of stealing humanitarian aid, in a bid to counter Hamas. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Popular Forces described the court order as a 'sitcom that doesn't frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity'. Abu Shabab, who was imprisoned by Hamas on drug trafficking charges, managed to flee prison with the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Since his escape, Abu Shabab has assembled a few hundred men and exerted control over an area near the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, which connects Gaza, Israel and Egypt. Israeli news reports have described Israeli soldiers intervening in clashes between Hamas fighters and members of the militia group in order to protect Abu Shabab. Why I support the UK taking a more nuanced position on Hamas Read More » A leaked UN memo described their base as a 'military-like compound' in a zone 'restricted, controlled and patrolled' by Israeli forces. In its assessment in mid-May, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition analysis to inform decisions, wrote that over the next six months, the entirety of Gaza is expected to face what is referred to by experts as 'crisis, or worse acute food insecurity'. Furthering the shortage of food has been the recently operating US-Israeli aid initiative, which has come under scrutiny for its use of militarised methods to distribute aid, and the lack of essentials entering the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement on Tuesday, more than 130 NGOs have called for immediate action to end the 'deadly' US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid scheme, and revert back to United Nations-led aid coordination mechanisms. The GHF began operating in late May, following a three-month total blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces. Since then, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and around 4,000 wounded by Israeli troops while attempting to access food and aid supplies.