CAIRO/ JERUSALEM/ LONDON: Extreme food shortages in parts of the Gaza Strip have already exceeded famine levels, and mass death now threatens without an immediate ceasefire and an influx of food to areas cut off by the fighting, a global famine monitor said on Monday.
The Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC), on which UN agencies rely, says 70% of people in parts of northern Gaza suffer from the most severe food insecurity, more than three times the 20% threshold to be considered. famine.
The IPC said it did not have enough data on the death toll, but estimated that residents would soon die of starvation, defined as two people out of every 10,000 dying each day from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
Gaza’s health ministry said 27 children and three adults have died of malnutrition so far.
“Actions needed to prevent famine require an immediate political decision on a ceasefire, along with a significant and immediate increase in humanitarian and commercial access to the entire population of Gaza,” it said.
A total of 1.1 million Gazans, around half the population, suffered from “catastrophic” food shortages, with some 300,000 in the areas now facing the prospect of famine-scale deaths.
The prospect of an artificially induced famine in Gaza has drawn the harshest criticism of Israel from its Western allies since it launched a war against Hamas militants following their deadly attack on Israeli territory on October 7.
“We are no longer on the brink of famine in Gaza. We are in a state of famine… Starvation is being used as a weapon of war. Israel is causing the famine,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a Brussels conference on Gaza aid.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded that Borrell should “stop attacking Israel and recognize our right to self-defense against the crimes of Hamas.”
Israel has allowed “massive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air and sea for anyone willing to help,” Katz said on X, and the aid has been “violently disrupted” by Hamas militants with the “cooperation” of UN aid agency UNRWA.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the IPC report an “appalling allegation” and said Israel must allow full and unrestricted access to all parts of Gaza.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he would carefully review the report: “It is clear that the current situation is unsustainable. We need to act now to avoid famine.”
Israel, which initially allowed aid into Gaza only through two checkpoints on the enclave’s southern edge, says it is opening more land routes and allowing sea shipments and airdrops. The first aid ship arrived last week.
Aid agencies say they still cannot get enough supplies or distribute them safely, especially in the north.
