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A report released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on Friday found that a “famine is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate” and is “rapidly spreading.” Multiple international organizations have renewed their calls for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate an “unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives.”
The IPC defines famine as “a situation in which at least one in five households has an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution, resulting in extremely critical levels of malnutrition and death.” According to the findings, 30 percent of households in Gaza Governorate are experiencing famine, along with 25 percent in Deir al-Balah and 20 percent in Khan Younis. Rafah was not included in the analysis as it is “largely depopulated.” North Gaza, while believed to be potentially worse than Gaza, has not been classified due to difficulties in assessing the population status. The famine is projected to quickly spread to more than 640,000 people in the coming weeks, with “exponential increases in catastrophic loss of life and mass suffering.” The report added, “Children, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases” will be the first to die as a result of malnutrition.
The IPC described the famine as “entirely man-made” and that it could be “halted and reversed.” The report attributed the increasing levels of starvation to three main factors: “[T]he destruction of domestic food production systems, import limitations, and displacement of populations away from available food sources or production systems.” While there have been deliveries from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-US organization, they “do not meet the criteria to be classified as humanitarian assistance,” according to the IPC. INGOs have decried restrictions on humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, with civilians being killed while attempting to access food at GHF sites.
The report called on senior decision makers to “act without delay to put in place an immediate humanitarian response” and “exert maximum pressure to achieve a ceasefire.” These calls have been echoed by multiple organizations including UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and WHO. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that “Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced the report, saying that the “IPC changed its own global standard, cutting the 30% threshold to 15% for this report only… solely to serve Hamas’s fake campaign.” It further stated that “there is no famine in Gaza.”
Human rights organizations have previously accused Israel of a “deliberate policy” of starvation as a weapon of war. Under Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Convention, Article 14, “Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited.”
The IPC is a partnership of 21 international nonprofits which aims to “determine the severity and extent of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations” globally. The report is the fifth IPC analysis to be conducted in Gaza, which is the most of any crisis which the IPC has reviewed. It is also the first famine it has confirmed in the Middle East.
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The IPC defines famine as “a situation in which at least one in five households has an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution, resulting in extremely critical levels of malnutrition and death.” According to the findings, 30 percent of households in Gaza Governorate are experiencing famine, along with 25 percent in Deir al-Balah and 20 percent in Khan Younis. Rafah was not included in the analysis as it is “largely depopulated.” North Gaza, while believed to be potentially worse than Gaza, has not been classified due to difficulties in assessing the population status. The famine is projected to quickly spread to more than 640,000 people in the coming weeks, with “exponential increases in catastrophic loss of life and mass suffering.” The report added, “Children, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases” will be the first to die as a result of malnutrition.
The IPC described the famine as “entirely man-made” and that it could be “halted and reversed.” The report attributed the increasing levels of starvation to three main factors: “[T]he destruction of domestic food production systems, import limitations, and displacement of populations away from available food sources or production systems.” While there have been deliveries from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-US organization, they “do not meet the criteria to be classified as humanitarian assistance,” according to the IPC. INGOs have decried restrictions on humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, with civilians being killed while attempting to access food at GHF sites.
The report called on senior decision makers to “act without delay to put in place an immediate humanitarian response” and “exert maximum pressure to achieve a ceasefire.” These calls have been echoed by multiple organizations including UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and WHO. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that “Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced the report, saying that the “IPC changed its own global standard, cutting the 30% threshold to 15% for this report only… solely to serve Hamas’s fake campaign.” It further stated that “there is no famine in Gaza.”
Human rights organizations have previously accused Israel of a “deliberate policy” of starvation as a weapon of war. Under Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Convention, Article 14, “Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited.”
The IPC is a partnership of 21 international nonprofits which aims to “determine the severity and extent of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations” globally. The report is the fifth IPC analysis to be conducted in Gaza, which is the most of any crisis which the IPC has reviewed. It is also the first famine it has confirmed in the Middle East.
The post Famine confirmed in Gaza, sparking renewed calls for ceasefire and humanitarian access appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.