UN: Risk of Famine Increasing by Day in War-Torn Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations has warned that the risk of famine and malnutrition is “increasing by the day” in the besieged Gaza Strip, as “Israel’s” strict blockade has cut off vital resources and caused the densely-populated territory to grapple with a humanitarian disaster.

At a press conference on Wednesday, UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric stressed that since the beginning of the current “Israeli” war on the Palestinian territory in early October, the world body has warned about severe food shortages there.

“Four months since the escalation of hostilities, OCHA [UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] is warning that in Gaza, severe food shortages, a breakdown in health services and inadequate facilities for water, sanitation and hygiene are putting children under the age of 5, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, at increased risk of malnutrition,” he said.

In his daily update, Dujarric also warned that the risk of malnutrition is particularly high for some 300000 people in northern Gaza who have been largely cut off from humanitarian assistance.

Citing the World Food Program, OCHA has reported that the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza City in the north is “not enough to prevent a famine”, as the last time the UN agency for Palestinian refugees [UNRWA] managed to distribute food in the north of the territory was on January 23.

Dujarric’s comments came almost a week after he said that UN humanitarian partners distributed supplementary nutrition assistance to nearly 42000 children under the age of five, and almost 4000 pregnant women and nursing mothers.

However, he said on Wednesday that “a new screening by our humanitarian partners indicates a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, with a 12-fold increase compared to the rate recorded before the hostilities.”

Meanwhile, Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said on Tuesday that the occupying regime was weaponizing hunger in its attacks against inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.

“‘Israel’ is clearly and systematically obstructing access to food for all civilians in Gaza,” he warned.