Gaza, Palestine – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported on Saturday that “the famine in Gaza City can be stopped”.
“Reverse the course of the ongoing catastrophe – the Gaza flood – with a significant increase in aid through the United Nations, including UNRWA,” UNRWA said.
“UNRWA’s warehouses alone in Jordan and Egypt are full,” she added.
She pointed out that there is enough food, medicine and hygiene supplies ready to fill 6,000 trucks.
“Israel must allow us to provide aid to Gaza,” she continued.
“living hell”
On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation in the Gaza Strip as a “man-made disaster”.
In response to the famine announcement in a post on X, Guterres described conditions in Gaza as “living hell.”
He stressed that the situation is “not a mystery” but “a man-made disaster, a moral accusation and a failure of humanity itself”.
Guterres said that Israel, as the occupying power, has obligations under international law to ensure food and medical supplies.
“We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity,” he added.
On Friday, the world’s largest food crisis initiative warned of worsening famine in Gaza City.
She indicated that it would deploy in the Gaza Strip if a ceasefire was not reached. Additionally, aid was allowed to enter without restrictions.
The Integrated Interim Classification Committee for Food Security stated that Gaza City – which includes hundreds of thousands of Palestinians – is witnessing a famine. This may spread south to reach Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis by the end of next month.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification data comes months after aid organizations warned about Israel’s restrictions. These restrictions on the entry of food and other aid into Gaza, along with its military operations, were causing high levels of famine among Palestinian civilians, especially children.
This terrible turn, as the initiative confirms the occurrence of famine for the first time in the Middle East, will certainly escalate pressure on Israel.
Israel indicates its intention to escalate the war on Hamas soon. They plan to seize Gaza City and other strongholds of the movement.
This experts indicate will exacerbate the famine crisis.
The initiative explained that hunger resulted from fighting and the ban on aid.
While widespread displacement and the collapse of food production in Gaza have increased, hunger has reached life-threatening levels. This is after 22 months of war.
About half a million people in Gaza, nearly a quarter of the population, face catastrophic levels of hunger.
There is a risk that many of them will die from malnutrition-related causes, according to the initiative’s report.
