One in five people in Gaza threatens hunger from Israel's blockade
One in five people in Gaza threatens hunger from Israel's blockade
A current report supported by the United Nations warns that every fifth person in the Gaza Strip is threatened by hunger , while the entire area of a famine comes closer. This happens after almost three months of the Israeli blockade of the necessary humanitarian aid.
urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The warning takes place, while the UN, several NGOs and civilians in the Gaza Strip report that the Situation has deteriorated since the renewed Israeli attack in March, since the residents difficulties have difficulty gaining access to food , medication and clean water.
acute food uncertainty
The entire population of the area is affected by "high acute food uncertainties", while the territory is at a "high risk" for a famine - the most serious form of a hunger crisis, as the integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated in its current report on Monday.
“goods that are essential for the survival of people are either exhausted or will run out in the coming weeks,” warned the IPC. Food is scarce, and what is still left is sold at exorbitant prices that only a few can afford.
The Israeli blockade
On March 2, Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade over Gaza and thus cut off food, medical aids and other aids for the more than 2 million Palestinians in the area. Israel states that the blockade together with the military escalation of the bombing of Gazas is intended to put pressure on Hamas to released hostages from the enclave. International organizations, on the other hand, claim that this violates international law and some accuse Israel to use hunger as a war weapon.
The effects of the crisis
The IPC report warned that there is a “high risk” between now and at the end of September for a famine, which would leave most people in Gaza without access to food, water, accommodation and medication.
"Only an immediate and sustainable termination of hostility and the resumption of the delivery of humanitarian aid can prevent a descent into famine," the report said.
threshold values for famine
According to the IPC system-a five-phase scale to measure the severity of food uncertainties-a famine can only be proclaimed if certain threshold values are reached. This includes: at least 20 % of all households must be faced with an extreme food shortage, 30 % or more of the children must be acute malfunction, and at least two out of 10,000 people dail daily due to acute malnutrition or the interaction of malnutrition and diseases.
The first threshold has already been reached according to the IPC. Almost 469,500 people-around 22 % of the population-are expected to experience "catastrophic" food uncertainty between May and September, the highest phase on the IPC scale.
opinions and perspectives
David Mencer, a spokesman for the office by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Monday that "Hunger emergency in Gaza never took place" despite the warnings of the IPC. If there is hunger in Gaza, it is due to Hamas that the civilian population keep from humanitarian help.
Although he was largely blamed for the increasing number of hunger at Hamas, the US ambassador in Israel, Mike> Huckabee , on Friday the rapidly deteriorating location in Gaza and told CNN: "If there was no humanitarian crisis, there would be no attempt to deal with it. So the answer is obvious: Yes, there is a humanitarian crisis."
The human costs of blockade
Since March 2, Israel's renewed attack has sold more than 430,000 people, which has affected essential services and the distribution of vital goods. All 25 bakeries that are operated by the UN World Food Program (WFP) had to close at the beginning of April due to lack of care, and food in most of the 177 kitchens are scarce for warm meals, as the IPC report reports. Food prices rise dramatically.
The prices for flour have risen by 3000 % since February, a 25-pound sack wheat flour can cost between $ 235 and $ 520.
groups in need of protection under pressure
Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk. It is expected that almost 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition in children under the age of five will occur between April 2025 and March 2026. In addition, almost 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment for acute malnutrition.
In the nineteen months since the Israeli attack on Gaza after the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, people started looking for food, grass and animal feed to eat and to drink contaminated water. could not produce enough milk for their babies, and parents tried everything to To keep children alive, parents and doctors told CNN.