More than half a million people in the Gaza Strip are suffering from hunger. In the area around Gaza City, in the north of the coastal enclave, about 514,000 people do not have enough to eat, the leading food security initiative said on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, refuses to believe the UN report: he even described it as a “blatant lie.”
The IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) is an initiative of 21 UN aid groups and organizations, funded among others by the EU. To be classified as famine, at least 20 percent of the population must suffer extreme food shortages, one in three children must be acutely malnourished, and two out of 10,000 people must die every day from hunger or its consequences.
By the end of September, the number of hungry people in the Gaza Strip is expected to rise to 641,000, the IPC warns. The initiative had previously stated that the necessary criteria for famine had been met in the administrative district of Gaza, where Gaza City is located. UN Chief Guterres Speaks of Deliberate Intent UN Secretary-General António Guterres considers Israel responsible for the famine in parts of the Gaza Strip.
“As the occupying power, Israel has clear obligations under international law, including the duty to ensure the supply of food and medicine to the population,” Guterres said. What is happening now is the “deliberate collapse of systems necessary for human survival.” Guterres: ‘Failure of Humanity Itself’ It is a man-made catastrophe, a moral bankruptcy, and a “failure of humanity itself,” Guterres continued. The situation in Gaza must not go unpunished. “No more excuses. The time to act is not tomorrow, it is now.
We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and unrestricted, unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.” UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk also blamed the Israeli government for the famine in northern Gaza. This is the “direct result of measures taken by the Israeli government,” Türk explained. The use of hunger as a weapon is a war crime. Army: ‘Hamas’s Campaign of Lies’ In response, the Israeli military authority Cogat accused the United Nations of spreading unverified claims.
Cogat pointed to Hamas, which it accuses of running a campaign of lies about famine. Netanyahu Speaks of Famine Prevention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself called the report a “complete lie.” Israel, he said, is not pursuing a policy of starvation but one of famine prevention. Netanyahu stated that Israel has allowed the delivery of two million tons of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. However, many trucks were looted before reaching warehouses for aid distribution.
\Previously, the Israeli Foreign Ministry had already announced that there was no famine in Gaza. The assessment of the IPC initiative, it said, is based on false information from Hamas. In recent weeks, aid deliveries have “flooded the Gaza Strip with basic foodstuffs.” ‘The Gates of Hell Will Open’ Meanwhile, according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, plans have been approved to deploy the army against Hamas in Gaza City.
This includes relocating residents from the largest city in the Gaza Strip. “The gates of hell will soon open on the murderers and rapists of Hamas in Gaza, until they accept Israel’s terms to end the war,” Katz threatened. Otherwise, Gaza City will resemble Rafah and Beit Hanoun. Both locations were largely destroyed by Israeli bombings. According to estimates, there are still about one million people currently in Gaza City. The already catastrophic situation of the civilian population would be further exacerbated by the offensive.
