GENEVA: The United Nations Friday warned that Famine in the Gaza Strip is almost inevitable unless the Israel-Hamas war ends.
The UN and other humanitarian organizations have not yet announced a state of famine in Gaza, despite worsening conditions in the Palestinian territory since the war between Hamas and Israel started on October 7.
Spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, Jens Laerke, said once a famine is declared, it becomes too late for too many people.
During a briefing in Geneva, he said that the UN doesn’t want to get to into that situation and wants to change things before that.
Thousands have already been killed in the conflict. According to Gaza health ministry Israel’s relentless bombardment have killed more than 30,000 people including women and children.
Humanitarian agencies warn that conditions for the 2.2 million people in Gaza are now terrible.
Laerke went to say that humanitarian organizations and rights activists across the world are expressing concerns about the food security situation the Gaza Strip, especially in the north.
He said if something doesn’t change, a famine in Gaza is almost inevitable on the current trends.
When famine was officially declared in Somalia in 2011, half of the total number of famine victims had already died of starvation.
He said that the situation in Gaza is very dire and coming towards us at very high speed.
10 children starved to death in Gaza
World Health Organization Spokesman Christian Lindmeier has said that according to statistics of Gaza health ministry, 10 children have already been starved to death.
At the briefing he said that unofficial figures can unfortunately be expected to be higher.
Laerke said seeing such alarming signs were extremely worrying, especially given than the food security before the war was relatively good.
The besieged territory had been producing its own food, but now, the production of food in Gaza itself is almost impossible while the key fishing industry has completely stopped.
Israeli forces in war-hit Gaza opened fire on Thursday as Palestinian civilians were waiting for food aid killing more than 100 people.
The Israeli military in a statement said a stampede took place when thousands of Gazans desperate for food surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries. However, the United Nations was not involved in the convoy.
Lindmeier said that people are so desperate for food, fresh water, for other supplies, they risk their lives in getting any food, for their children and themselves.
