Nearly half a million Palestinians in Gaza still face “catastrophic levels” of hunger, a UN-backed assessment says, with a “high risk” of famine as long as Israel’s war with Hamas continues and humanitarian access is restricted. will continue to exist.
However, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report said available evidence does not indicate that famine is currently occurring in the northern Palestinian territories.
Previous assessments in March predicted an imminent disaster in the region.
Since then, the amount of food and other aid allowed into the north has increased, and nutrition, water, sanitation and health services have been strengthened, the report said.
But it warned that food supplies in southern and central Gaza had been significantly reduced due to the closure of the Rafah crossing and the displacement of more than 1 million people since Israel launched a ground operation in the city of Rafah in early May.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said the report “paints a stark picture of persistent hunger” and demonstrates the critical importance of continued humanitarian access.
U.N. officials blame the situation on Israeli military restrictions on aid deliveries, ongoing hostilities and a breakdown in law and order.
Israel insists there are no limits on the amount of aid that can be sent to Gaza and its regions and accuses U.N. agencies of failing to distribute supplies. It also accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.
On October 7, an unprecedented attack in southern Israel left approximately 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage as the Israeli military launched an operation to destroy Hamas.
Since then, more than 37,650 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The IPC is a global initiative run by United Nations agencies, aid groups and national governments and is the main mechanism used by the international community to determine whether a famine is occurring.
Households are classified as IPC Stage 5 (disaster) if they experience extreme lack of food, hunger, and exhaustion of coping strategies.
For a famine to be officially declared in a specific area, there must be evidence that at least 20% of households are in stage five, 30% of children are severely malnourished, and 2 or 4 people have died per 10,000 inhabitants. Children died “due to outright starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease”.
In March, the IPC classified 677,000 Gazans (30% of the population of 2.2 million) as Stage 5, including 165,000 people trapped in northern Gaza. It also predicted “imminent” famine in the north by the end of May due to conflict and an almost complete lack of humanitarian access.
Israel rejects this analysisquestioning the transparency, methodology and sources of information of the IPC.
IPC assessment released on Tuesday More than 495,000 Gazans, including 60,000 in the north, still face catastrophic hunger.
“Contrary to assumptions over the forecast period (March to July 2024), the volume of food and non-food goods allowed into the northern provinces has increased,” the report states.
“In addition, nutrition, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health sector responses have been scaled up. In this case, the available evidence does not suggest that famine is currently occurring.
The report explains that although an estimated 20% of households in the northern region are in stage five, the thresholds for acute malnutrition and mortality have not yet been exceeded.
The World Health Organization said earlier this month that local health officials reported 32 deaths due to malnutrition, 28 of them children under five years old.
The IPC report warned that “continued high risks of famine remain throughout Gaza” and that improvements in April and May “should not leave us room for complacency”.
The World Food Program said the “slight improvements” seen in the IPC report showed the changes greater access could bring, but stressed the situation “remains desperate”.
“To truly turn the tide and prevent famine, adequate and sustained humanitarian assistance must be provided,” the report added.
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) told reporters in Geneva that on average at least 10 children lose one or both legs every day as a result of the war.
Philippe Lazzarini said the figure did not include children who had lost hands or arms, and amputations were often performed in what he called “pretty horrific conditions” and sometimes without anesthesia.
In Gaza, at least 24 people were reportedly killed in three Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza early on Tuesday, including the sister of Hamas’s political leader in Qatar, Ismail Haniyeh.
Health officials told Reuters that 14 people died after two schools in the Daraj district of central Gaza city and the Shati refugee camp in the northern city were used as shelters for displaced people.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the planes struck “two buildings used by Hamas terrorists” in Shadi and Daraj.
“Terrorists operate within the school compound, which Hamas uses as a cover for its terrorist activities,” the statement added, accusing some of them of involvement in hostage-taking and the October 7 attack.
Hamas has previously denied using schools for military purposes.
Ten other people were said to have been killed in a pre-dawn attack on a house in Shadi. A neighbor and Palestinian media identified the victims as Ismail Haniyeh’s sister Zair and nine members of her family.
Mr. Haniyeh also lost three sons and several grandchildren in a strike in April. .
The Israeli military has so far not commented on the reports.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders has expressed cynicism over the “horrific and cynical” killing of one of its staff The attack took place in Gaza City on Tuesday morning.
Physiotherapist Fadi al-Wadiya was killed along with five others, including three children, as he cycled to a clinic where MSF worked, the charity said, without blaming either party.
The Israeli military later announced that Fadi Wadia had been killed in an airstrike and accused him of being an “important figure.” [Palestinian] Islamic Jihadist Terrorists” developed the group’s rocket array.
