GAZA, (PIC)
The World Food Program (WFP) issued a warning on Friday that more than a quarter of Gaza’s population has depleted their food supplies and are now facing the risk of death from hunger, as the Israeli war on the Palestinian territory continues.
The WFP chief economist, Aref Hussein, confirmed the possibility of a comprehensive famine in the next six months if the humanitarian aid continues to be restricted, describing the crisis as unprecedented. Hussein also warned of the widespread outbreak of diseases among the population of Gaza due to their weakened immune systems resulting from inadequate nutrition.
In the same context, a report by Reuters news agency warned that the war in Gaza is disrupting food supplies, and displaced families spend days searching for food. The agency stated that hunger has become the most urgent problem among the many challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, as aid trucks have only been able to bring a small portion of what is required, and distribution is uneven due to the chaos of war.
Children at risk
The report also quoted a doctor in Rafah, Gaza, stating that patients come in a frail state and that hunger causes dizziness in Gaza’s children. Weight loss and anemia have become common, and people suffer from severe weakness and dehydration, making them more susceptible to respiratory infections and skin diseases. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable and their growth will be affected.
Save the Children, an organization dedicated to defending children’s rights worldwide, stated that the ongoing siege and bombardment by Israel puts thousands of children at risk of death from hunger and diseases. The organization believes that all residents of Gaza are threatened by the risk of famine due to these conditions, emphasizing that everyone there is facing a food security crisis, or even worse.
It is abhorrent and barely conceivable in 2023, that women, children and babies, the elderly and sick, the most vulnerable people have had their food weaponized against them. The horror felt by a mother unable to feed her child is the horror of Gaza today.
While over 90 percent of people in Gaza cannot find their next meal, some UN Security Council member states are still toying with words rather than voting for a ceasefire.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 20,050 Palestinians have been killed, and 53,320 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
International complicity in starving Gaza
The Government Media Office (GMO) warned during its press conference last Monday that more than 1.5 million displaced people in Gaza are clearly threatened in terms of food, water, and medicine security, and are suffering from poor living conditions and shelter.
The GMO also cautioned institutions, organizations, and international bodies against complicity in implementing the policies of hunger and thirst against the Palestinian people, and warned them of the spread of famine in the governorates of the Gaza Strip. They called on them to fulfill their required role in this regard.
