Gaza’s hunger crisis deepens in the south
Summary
Israel’s military operation in Rafah has exacerbated the hunger crisis in southern Gaza, while a projected famine in the enclave’s north hasn’t occurred but remains a high risk, according to new estimates by food-security experts.
Israel’s military operation in Rafah has exacerbated the hunger crisis in southern Gaza, while a projected famine in the enclave’s north hasn’t occurred but remains a high risk, according to new estimates by food-security experts who warned that the situation remains precarious.
Gaza is currently experiencing the most acute hunger crisis anywhere in the world, both in absolute numbers and per capita, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, an initiative that brings together experts from the United Nations, relief agencies and research groups. That is compounding the human toll of the nearly nine-month conflict which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and led to calls, including from the U.S., for an immediate cease-fire on humanitarian grounds.
Since Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, limited amounts of food and other basic goods have entered the strip. Aid to the north slowed to a trickle at the start of the year, leading the IPC to project in March that a famine was likely to occur there within two months without immediate action.
Israel opened new land routes to the north in March and April, following international pressure sparked by a deadly aid convoy incident in northern Gaza and an Israeli airstrike on a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed seven aid workers, including an American.
When Israeli forces seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt in May as part of a campaign to destroy remaining Hamas units in the southern city, aid flows there stopped. Fighting near the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel and a breakdown in law and order on the Gaza side of the border have since obstructed most aid from entering the south.
“A high risk of Famine persists as long as conflict continues, and humanitarian access is restricted," said the report released Tuesday which was conducted from May 27 to June 4. “The prolonged nature of the crisis means that this risk remains at least as high as at any time during the past few months."
The speed and scale at which the situation deteriorated since the start of the war has no recent precedent, say food-security experts. Nearly all the population faces high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people experiencing famine-like conditions. International airdrops and a U.S.-built pier have done little to ease the suffering.
Write to Stephen Kalin at stephen.kalin@wsj.com
