“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” the leading international authority on food crises said on July 29, predicting “massive deaths” if immediate action is not taken.
This warning, which does not yet constitute an official declaration of famine, comes after widespread reactions following the publication of images of malnourished children and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war.
International pressure prompted Israel to announce measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian ceasefires in parts of Gaza and airdrops of aid packages. However, the United Nations and Palestinians in Gaza say the situation has changed little, as desperate crowds of Palestinians continue to flock to aid trucks before they reach their intended destinations.
The Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) warned that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have "dramatically escalated" the situation.
The official declaration of famine, which is rare, requires data that cannot be obtained in Gaza due to the blockade of access to the territory.
But independent experts say they don't need a formal declaration to understand what they are seeing in Gaza.
"Just as a family doctor can often diagnose a patient they know based on the obvious symptoms, without having to send samples to a lab and wait for results, so too can we interpret the symptoms of Gaza. This is real hunger," Alex de Waal, author of "Mass Famine: Its History and Future" and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told the Associated Press.
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza has worsened, the Ministry of Health in the Palestinian territory announced on July 29 that the death toll since the start of the war in 2023 has reached over 60,000.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas radicals - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - attacked southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping nearly 250 others. About 50 people are believed to still be held in Gaza, while others have been released under preliminary ceasefire agreements./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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