Over 1mln people in Gaza expected to face starvation by mid-July: UN
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FAO says the figure would be a result of "the heavy restrictions on access and goods, and the collapse of local agrifood systems."
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Palestinians line up for free food during the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP)
Over one million people – half of the population of Gaza – are expected to face death, starvation, and "catastrophic conditions" by mid-July, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations warned on Wednesday, amid the ongoing Israeli war on the besieged Strip.
In its recently published Hunger Hotspots Report, FAO pointed out that this figure would be a result of "the devastating impact" of the ongoing war, "the heavy restrictions on access and goods, and the collapse of local agrifood systems."
This comes as Israeli occupation forces continue to occupy the main Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for aid, in the southern Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt since last month, while a drip aid goes in mainly through the Karem Abu Salem crossing.
The UN agency warned that the war "is expected to further aggravate the unprecedented death toll, widespread destruction and displacement of nearly the total population in the Gaza Strip," especially if the aggression on Rafah is expanded.
The report emphasized that "it is highly likely" that the whole of the Gaza Strip would be facing a risk of famine through July 2024.
"As of March 2024, all evidence pointed towards a major acceleration of starvation-related death and malnutrition," FAO recalled, citing the IPC Famine Review Committee.
It pointed out that malnutrition rates had doubled since January 2024 in the Gaza Strip's northern governorates, "with 1 in 3 children under 2 years of age being affected."
The Hunger Hotspots Report indicated that "as of March 2024, famine was projected and imminent in North Gaza and Gaza governorates, in the absence of an immediate cessation of hostilities, unrestricted humanitarian access and a restoration of health, water, sanitation and electricity."
On Tuesday, Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean regional director, mentioned that "inside Gaza, there are people who are now eating animal food, eating grass, they're drinking sewage water."
"Children are barely able to eat, while the trucks are standing outside of Rafah," she said.
Read more: Children under 5 in Gaza go at least 1 in 3 days without food: Reports
