“If no effective action is taken by stakeholders with influence, the scale of this looming catastrophe is likely to dwarf anything we have seen so far in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023.”
“There is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent within the northern Gaza Strip,” a group of international experts have warned, urging immediate action.
“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said in an urgent alert issued on Friday.
Famine Review Committee Alert!❗️
There is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within the northern Gaza Strip.
Learn more ➡️https://t.co/A1ND7eZWI4 pic.twitter.com/NVo9xa4jWE— The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (@theIPCinfo) November 8, 2024
The FRC said that the latest Snapshot Report published by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on October 17 “classified the entire Gaza Strip in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) acute food security, with IPC Phase 3 (Serious) level of acute malnutrition in September – October 2024.”
It said 133,000 Palestinians were classified as facing “catastrophic food insecurity”.
The analysis team also conducted a risk of Famine analysis and concluded that “under a reasonable worst-case scenario, a risk of Famine existed for the whole of the Gaza Strip between November 2024 and April 2025.”
Collapsed Food Systems
The FRC said that food availability in the Gaza Strip needs to be considered in a context where “food systems have collapsed.”
According to OCHA data, “the number of aid shipments being let into the Gaza Strip (data up to 27 October 2024) is lower now than at any time since October 2023.”
Data made available by the Israeli COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) on humanitarian and ‘commercial’ shipments also agrees that shipments are at the lowest level since the start of the war, said the FRC.
Famine is most likely imminent in areas in northern Gaza warns @theIPCinfo.
Access to food is at critical levels & rapidly deteriorating
Immediate action is required. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in dire need & avert this catastrophe.https://t.co/XgYkYrv959 pic.twitter.com/vnSml2iWd1
— United Nations (@UN) November 8, 2024
It noted that the World Food Programme (WFP) market monitoring report for the second half of October indicates that the average number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip fell to “just 58 per day, the lowest level since November 2023.”
Worth noting was that the “level of supplies entering the Gaza Strip in October 2024 is lower than the amounts that were permitted in early 2024, a period during which acute food security and acute malnutrition rapidly deteriorated and famine was projected in the northern Governorates,” the committee emphasized.
Role of UNRWA
The FRC pointed out that even though it is not currently clear how Israel’s ban on UNRWA would impact the agency’s operations, “there is widespread consensus that UNRWA remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity.”
The developments outlined in the alert, the FRC said, indicate the need for a new IPC analysis, but added that it however, “is already abundantly clear that the worst-case scenario developed by the analysis team is now playing out” in areas of the northern Gaza Strip.
Sadly, this is not a surprise.#famine is likely happening in northern #Gaza
This is man made.
Hunger has been weaponized by the State of Israel.
This deprives people in Gaza of the basics including food to survive.
What is being allowed into Gaza is not enough, an… pic.twitter.com/3HDbqxcgIW
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) November 9, 2024
“It can therefore be assumed that starvation, malnutrition, and excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease, are rapidly increasing in these areas. Famine thresholds may have already been crossed or else will be in the near Future,” the FRC stated.
Specific Demands
The committee called on “all parties” concerned to “allow unimpeded humanitarian supplies of food, water, medical and nutrition supplies, and other essential items to enter the Gaza Strip and for these to be distributed to all populations in need.”
It also called for an end to the siege in the northern areas of Gaza as well as a halt to attacks on health facilities and other essential civilian infrastructure.
One year into the conflict, the risk of Famine persists across the whole Gaza Strip. Given the recent surge in hostilities, there are growing concerns that this worst-case scenario may materialize. Read more: https://t.co/m0pV5vYRmq pic.twitter.com/h5T7adnb86
— The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (@theIPCinfo) October 17, 2024
“Permit the restitution of health and nutrition care by allowing the re-supply and repair of health facilities and releasing health staff from detention so they can perform their medical functions,” it emphasized.
The FRC also called for the shipment of supplies into Gaza “to allow for winterization of available accommodation and reduce the risks of excess morbidity and mortality due to environmental stress and disease outbreaks in the coming months.”
Failure to respond to these calls within the next few days will result in a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and additional, avoidable, civilian deaths, the committee said.
“If no effective action is taken by stakeholders with influence, the scale of this looming catastrophe is likely to dwarf anything we have seen so far in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023,” it emphasized.
‘Hunger Weaponized’ by Israel
Commenting on the FRC alert, UNRWA’s Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarani said “Sadly, this is not a surprise.”
“This is man made,” Lazzarini said on X, adding that “Hunger has been weaponized by the State of Israel.”
This deprives people in Gaza of the basics including food to survive, he added.
Recent @FAO–@UNOSAT geospatial data shows escalating damage to agricultural infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
“Emergency agricultural interventions are indispensable as part of famine prevention efforts in Gaza.” — @ReinPaulsen pic.twitter.com/Qh3TUVhjbQ
— FAO in Emergencies (@FAOemergencies) November 10, 2024
“What is being allowed into Gaza is not enough, an average of just over 30 trucks/ day. This is just over six per cent of the daily needs,” he stressed.
The UNRWA chief emphasized that “political will” was urgently required as a way forward.
“Political will to increase the flow of humanitarian + commercial supplies into Gaza … to allow convoys to Northern Gaza on a regular + uninterrupted basis,” and “Political will to reverse & address hunger,” he stated.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
