Famine has spread across Gaza Strip, UN experts declare

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: OHCHR
10 Jul 2024 16:16
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The experts emphasize that 34 Palestinians, mostly children, have succumbed to malnutrition since October 7, stressing that failure to act constitutes complicity.

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Palestinian child Abdul Qader al-Sarhi’s lifeless body at the morgue of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on May 31, 2024 (Social media)

A group of UN experts warned in a press release, on Tuesday, that the recent deaths of additional Palestinian children from hunger and malnutrition unequivocally indicate that famine has now spread across the entire Gaza Strip.

“Fayez Ataya, who was barely six months old, died on 30 May 2024 and 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi died on 1 June 2024 at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida died on 3 June 2024 in the tent sheltering his displaced family in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. All three children died from malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare,” the experts said.

“With the death of these children from starvation despite medical treatment in central Gaza, there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza,” they added.

Inaction is complicity

The UN experts stressed that the death of a child due to malnutrition and dehydration signifies that essential health and social structures have been targeted and are severely compromised.

"When the first child dies from malnutrition and dehydration, it becomes irrefutable that famine has taken hold,” the experts emphasized.

“We declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza. We call upon the international community to prioritize the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire,” they added.

UN experts stressed that the death of a 2-month-old baby and 10-year-old Yazan al-Kafarneh from hunger on February 24 and March 4, respectively, served as confirmation that famine had reached northern Gaza.

They criticized the global community for not intervening sooner to halt "Israel's" starvation campaign, which they described as genocidal, and prevent these fatalities. The experts pointed out that 34 Palestinians, mostly children, have succumbed to malnutrition since October 7, emphasizing that failure to act constitutes complicity.