Famine in Gaza ‘entirely man-made’, requires ceasefire, aid rollout to reverse: IPC
The famine in Gaza is “entirely man-made” and can be “halted and reversed”, the IPC’s Famine Review Committee says, but it requires an “immediate, at-scale response” to do so.
“The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading,” the committee said in a report.
“There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that an immediate, at-scale response is needed. Any further delay – even by days – will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality.”
The report goes on to warn that “avoidable deaths will increase exponentially” unless a ceasefire is implemented to allow in humanitarian aid and restore the delivery of food and basic supplies to Gaza’s population immediately.
The committee said the report marked the fifth time it had been called to review an analysis on Gaza’s food crisis, noting that it had never been required to return so many times to the same crisis before.
The report said that was “a stark reflection of how suffering has not only persisted but intensified and spread until famine has begun to emerge” in Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza City reduced to begging, scavenging in rubbish to survive: IPC
Many Palestinian households are resorting to begging or scavenging in rubbish for food, according to a new IPC report confirming for the first time that a famine is occurring in Gaza.
The report by the IPC’s Famine Review Committee said that 28 percent of respondents in Gaza governorate – where 35 percent of the population is projected to face famine conditions by the end of September – said they had resorted to begging for food.
A further 15 percent of people said that they had scavenged in rubbish to try to source food, while nearly 40 percent had collected rubbish for sale to raise money to eat.
More than one-third of respondents in the Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surrounding areas, reported “very severe” hunger in the household, indicative of Phase 5 or famine conditions under the IPC classification system.
Mercy Corps denounces Gaza famine as ‘man-made catastrophe’
The chief executive officer of the US-based aid group, Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, has called the UN announcement of a famine in Gaza City “absolutely horrifying, yet not surprising”.
“This is the direct result of months of deliberate restrictions on aid, the destruction of Gaza’s food, health and water systems, and relentless bombardment. This is a man-made catastrophe, entirely preventable and entirely unconscionable,” she said.
McKenna said Mercy Corps staff were facing dire conditions.
“We’re watching our own team members waste away. They’re standing in food lines, skipping meals so their children can eat, and risking their lives daily just to find bread and water,” she noted.
The Mercy Corps chief said while it has supplies for 160,000 people stuck at crossings, some goods have already expired due to delays.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is a moral failing of the highest order. The world knows how to stop a famine – we just need the will to act,” McKenna added.
