UN: Gaza is besieged by famine

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) expressed its deep concern about the deterioration of food security in the Gaza Strip, where approximately 2.2 million Palestinians face the risk of famine, according to a report issued by the United Nations (UN) on Friday about the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

“There is a risk of famine, and it is increasing each day that the current situation of intense hostilities and restricted humanitarian access persists or worsens. The intensification of the hostilities, further reduction in access to food, basic services, and lifesaving assistance, and the extreme concentration or isolation of people in inadequate shelters or areas without basic services are major factors that contribute to increasing this risk,” the report warned.

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According to the report, a copy of which was sent to Quds Press: “Between 8 December 2023 and 7 February 2024, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.2 million people) is classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country. Among these, about 50 per cent of the population (1.17 million people) is in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and at least one in four households (more than half a million people) is facing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5, catastrophe). This is typically characterized by households experiencing an extreme lack of food, leading to starvation, alarmingly high acute malnutrition rates among children under five, and significant excess mortality.”

“Even before the start of hostilities, more than a quarter of the population of Palestine was already estimated to be food insecure, including more than half of the population of the Gaza Strip,” it added.

The FAO announced it: “Stands ready to start delivering fodder – 1500 tonnes of barley – water tanks, veterinary kits and fuel to Gaza, once access is made available, to protect livestock and sustain livelihoods.”

For the 77th consecutive day, the Israeli occupation army, with American and European support, continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip, as its planes bomb the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers and Palestinian civilian homes, destroying them over the heads of their inhabitants.

The occupation is also preventing the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel, which led to the death toll rising to 20,057 and more than 53,320 injuries, resulting in massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to Palestinian and UN sources.

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