New Delhi: The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into famine unless immediate action is taken, the United National World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
This missive comes as winter approaches, and with a lack of food and other vital humanitarian supplies that could lead to catastrophic consequences, according to the WFP.
Israeli lawmakers recently voted in favour of a controversial bill that would ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel starting next year. The UNRWA is the main humanitarian aid provider in the Gaza Strip. WFP has also expressed concern over this, calling the UNRWA a “central component.”
Expert hunger findings of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification IPC projected in October that by November, more than 90% of Gaza’s population will face severe food insecurity. A large group among them will experience emergency hunger, while others could face “catastrophic” food insecurity — the highest hunger level, the WFP noted in its statement on October 29.
Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase, unless conditions on the ground improve. In October, Gaza got only 5,000 metric tonnes of food which WFP recognised was just one-fifth of basic food assistance for the 1.1 million people who depend on its lifesaving support. WFP’s stocks will only last four months, it adds.
The destruction of factories, croplands and shops have led to empty markets, cutting down all methods of production of and access to food inside Gaza.
To effectively roll out meaningful operations and deliver crucial food assistance, the UN food agency has also called for more secure and functional entry points into Gaza from places where its stocks are kept, like Ashdod, Egypt, and Jordan.