JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Two UN agencies have warned that Gaza is heading to famine, and combined with the alarming rise in diseases, it will lead to more deaths in the war-stricken Palestinian enclave.
More than 20000 people have already lost their lives in Gaza in retaliatory attacks by Israel Defense Forces.
In new estimates released Thursday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global partnership, which includes WHO, said Gaza is facing 'catastrophic levels of food insecurity,' with the risk of famine 'increasing each day.'
An unprecedented 93 percent of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households are facing 'catastrophic conditions': experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident.
On recent missions to north Gaza, WHO staff say that every single person they spoke to in Gaza is hungry. Wherever they went, including hospitals and emergency wards, people asked them for food. 'We move around Gaza delivering medical supplies and people rush to our trucks hoping it's food,' they said, calling it 'an indicator of the desperation.'
Children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and older people are the most affected.
The World Food Program says Gaza is at risk of famine within six months if the conflict doesn't end.
More than one in four households in Gaza currently face extreme hunger, and there is a risk of famine unless access to adequate food, clean water, health and sanitation services is restored, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.
This latest food security analysis for Gaza, which includes data from WFP, other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, confirmed that the entire population of Gaza - roughly 2.2 million people - is in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity.
According to the IPC, there is a risk of famine occurring within the next six months if the current situation of intense conflict and restricted humanitarian access persists.
When the alarming reports were brought to his attention at a White House news conference, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, 'We certainly agree that there is an immense amount of suffering inside Gaza - hunger, obviously, but also health needs as well.' He expressed concern that with winter coming, harsher weather is going to make it tougher for people that are not able to shelter.
More than 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes since the Israel-Hamas war broke out 76 days ago. Out of them, 1.4 million are staying in overcrowded shelters, according to WHO. These conditions are ripe for a continued rise in infectious diseases.
The White House said more humanitarian assistance is being delivered into Gaza.
Kirby said that on Wednesday, some 120 trucks entered through Israeli border crossing at Kerem Shalom and more than 71 through Rafah, the Egyptian border crossing. 'We're going to continue to work as hard as we can to increase that flow through both those border crossings and then make sure that there are processes in place to get that aid and assistance to the people who actually need it inside Gaza,' he told reporters.
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