Residents of the Palestinian enclave face dire famine
A World Bank report says there is an imminent risk of catastrophic famine in the Gaza Strip. Half the population of the Palestinian enclave faces imminent famine as food shortages approach catastrophic levels for more than a million people, the World Bank has warned.
Nearly six months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Washington-based World Bank said urgent action to prevent mass deaths from starvation over the next two months.
According to The Guardian, the new data from the Bank comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to provide immediate and unconditional access to Gaza to provide assistance by land.
“I call on the Israeli authorities to ensure full and unimpeded access to humanitarian routes throughout Gaza,” the UN Secretary General said before a meeting with the President of the European Commission in Brussels.
According to the Bank's regular update, of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, 1.1 million were in the highest risk category – people involved in a disaster – which meant the risk of acute malnutrition or death. Another 854,000 people (38%) were in the following category – people in emergency situations – where immediate action was required to save lives. The remaining 12% fell into the third category: people in crisis. No one in Gaza was classified in the bottom two categories – people experiencing stress or food insecurity.
“Household surveys reveal alarming trends: almost all households are skipping meals every day, and a significant proportion of children under two years of age suffer from acute malnutrition,” the report said.
The World Bank said that the projected famine could begin at any time between now and the end of May, and conditions are exacerbated by a number of factors, including ongoing hostilities, widespread damage to infrastructure, and limited humanitarian access impeding the delivery of essential supplies and services.
Referring to the huge number of people facing catastrophic hunger, Guterres said leaders need to «act now before it is too late.» He also renewed calls for Hamas to unconditionally release all Israeli hostages.
UN Secretary-General Guterres will address EU leaders at a summit on Thursday, where they will be asked to accept conclusions calling on Israel to prevent famine. In harsh language, the latest draft declaration now states that “full, rapid, secure and unimpeded humanitarian access” to Gaza must be provided «to provide life-saving assistance and essential services to the civilian population on a large scale.»
Doctors Without Borders, which two days ago was granted access to Rafah to establish a temporary center care workers, stated that they have diarrhea due to poor sanitation and respiratory infections in children caused by living in tents in winter.