Extreme food shortages in parts of Gaza have already far exceeded famine levels, and mass death is now imminent without an immediate ceasefire and surge of food to areas cut off by fighting, the global hunger monitor said on Monday.
The Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), whose assessments are relied on by UN agencies, said 70 per cent of people in parts of northern Gaza were now afflicted by the most severe level of food shortage, far exceeding the 20 per cent famine threshold.
In a famine, food shortages are followed first by widespread malnutrition and then mass deaths. The IPC said malnutrition is probably already at famine levels; it did not have enough data on death rates, but estimated residents would be dying at famine scale imminently, and children under four may already be.
“The actions needed to prevent famine require an immediate political decision for a ceasefire together with a significant and immediate increase in humanitarian and commercial access to the entire population of Gaza,” it said.
“All efforts must be made to ensure the provision of food, water, medicines, and protection of civilians, as well as to restore and provide health, water, and sanitation services, and energy.”
In all, 1.1 million Gazans, around half the population, were experiencing “catastrophic” shortages of food, the worst category, with around 300,000 in the areas now facing the prospect of famine-scale death rates.
The prospect of a man-made famine in Gaza has brought the strongest criticism of Israel from Western allies since it launched its war against Hamas militants following their deadly attack on Israeli territory on October 7.
“In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the opening of a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels.
“This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded that Borrell should “stop attacking Israel and recognise our right to self-defence against Hamas’ crimes”.
Israel allowed “extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air, and sea for anyone willing to help”, Katz said on X, and aid was “violently disturbed” by Hamas militants with “collaboration” by the UN’s aid agency UNRWA.
Israeli army launches operation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital
Israeli army launches operation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the IPC report an “appalling indictment” and said Israel must allow complete and unfettered access to all parts of Gaza.
“This is an entirely man-made disaster – and the report makes clear that it can be halted.”
Israel, which initially allowed aid into Gaza through only two checkpoints on the enclave’s southern edge, says it is opening more routes by land, as well as allowing sea shipments and air drops. The first boat carrying aid arrived last week.
Aid agencies say they still cannot get enough supplies through or distribute them safely, especially in the north, and that access and security are Israel’s responsibility.
Meanwhile, Israel has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not to issue emergency orders for it to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza, dismissing South Africa’s request to do so as “morally repugnant”.
In a legal filing to the United Nations’ top court, made public on Monday, Israel said it “has real concern for the humanitarian situation and innocent lives, as demonstrated by the actions it has and is taking” in Gaza during the war.
Lawyers for Israel denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in the enclave and said South Africa’s repeated requests for additional measures were an abuse of procedures.
The filing said South Africa’s accusations in its request for new measures, filed on March 6, are “wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the court itself”.
The new exchange between the parties is part of South Africa’s continuing case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza after the October 7 attacks.
Unicef says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive
Unicef says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive
In January the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel denies targeting Palestinian civilians, saying its sole interest is to annihilate Hamas, but relief agencies say aid is being severely restricted to the Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
ICJ emergency measures serve as temporary injunctions meant to keep a situation from deteriorating before the court can hear the full case, a process that usually takes several years.
In the ruins of Gaza City, the main settlement in the north of Gaza, Israeli forces launched a major assault on al-Shifa hospital overnight. Once Gaza’s biggest hospital, it is now one of the only medical facilities still even partially functioning in the north of the territory.
Israel said it had killed 20 Hamas fighters, including a senior Hamas commander, Fayeq al-Mabhouh, in the hospital.
The Israeli army said troops had entered al-Shifa based on intelligence that the hospital was being used by senior Hamas leaders. The soldiers were fired on and responded. One soldier was killed.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said displaced people inside the hospital had been killed in a fire caused by the raid: “There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it’s impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows.”
President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Monday, the White House said, their first call in more than a month.
“President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, including the situation in Rafah and efforts to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” the White House said.
The leader in the US Senate from Biden’s Democratic Party called on Israelis last week to replace Netanyahu, saying he was wrecking Israel’s international standing by allowing too much suffering in Gaza.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
