Famine 'quite possibly' present in northern Gaza: State Dept. official
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A US State Department official stresses that the nutritional needs of Gaza's entire population of all ages must be addressed.
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Fadi Zant, aged 9, experiencing malnutrition, receives treatment after being evacuated from the northern Gaza Strip to the IMC field hospital in Rafah, Gaza on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah / ANADOLU / Anadolu via AFP)
The US State Department said that famine likely exists in at least some regions of northern Gaza, with other areas at risk of plunging into starvation conditions, Reuters reported.
"While we can say with confidence that famine is a significant risk in the south and centre but not present, in the north, it is both a risk and quite possibly is present in at least some areas," a State Department official told the news agency.
The official stressed that the nutritional needs of Gaza's entire population of all ages must be addressed and that this goes beyond mere survival-level sustenance, highlighting malnutrition and the significant, escalating issue of infant and young child mortality.
"It has to be addressed by additional assistance coming and the right kind of assistance coming in," he said, failing to hold the Israeli occupation forces responsible for the dire conditions.
The official mentioned that a maritime aid corridor, pledged by US President Joe Biden, which involves establishing a floating port, would be operational by mid to late April.
Washington's statements clearly contradict Israeli allegations that sufficient food and other aid are being allowed into Gaza. Last week, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that Israeli occupation forces had definitively barred the agency from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza.
The US warning closely follows a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which also cautioned that famine was becoming a reality in some areas in the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, a panel of ICJ judges issued a unanimous ruling demanding "Israel" permit humanitarian assistance to the Strip.
"The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … but that famine is setting in," the judges remarked.
The ruling was preceded by a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global authority on food security, warning that famine was imminent and likely to occur by May in northern Gaza, potentially spreading across the entire Strip by July.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Friday that the ICJ ruling was "a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man made and worsening."
Read more: 'Israel' rejects UN report on Gaza famine warning
