Half of Gazans face the worst level of food insecurity and famine is expected to hit the north of the territory by May if urgent action is not taken.indicated a new report published this Monday by the global initiative of Integrated Food Safety Phase Classification (IPC).
The rest of the Strip “also runs the risk of future hunger, in the worst case, “if hostilities do not cease and large-scale humanitarian assistance does not reach those most in need”added, for its part, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In this sense, the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, demanded this Monday that Israel and the international community act immediately in the face of the alarming levels of famine in Gaza to “prevent the unthinkable, unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
Guterres made a brief statement at the doors of the Security Council after the CPI report was made public, which warns of the fact that 1.1 million people suffer from “catastrophic food insecurity”, the most serious level.
It is a disaster entirely of human work that can cease
The Secretary General stressed that This figure is the largest “ever recorded anywhere” of the catastrophic level of hunger according to this UN measurement system, and added that “it is an entirely human-made disaster, which can stop.”
The Palestinians in Gaza “suffer appalling levels of hunger and suffering,” the Portuguese politician insisted, before reiterating his oft-repeated call for a ceasefire or, failing that, the entry of humanitarian aid.
“I call on the Israeli authorities to guarantee full and unrestricted access of humanitarian goods to Gaza, and on the international community to fully support our humanitarian efforts,” Guterres insisted outside the doors of the Council.
The Security Council has precisely been unable to approve a call for a ceasefire, after The United States has vetoed resolutions that requested it on three occasions.arguing that an end to hostilities would allow the rearmament and reorganization of Hamas.
In a statement, the WHO also called for health, food and hygiene services to be restored, and for “safe, nutritious and sufficient” food to be provided to the population most in need.
“Traffic of commercial products should also be fully resumed to meet needs,” the WHO said, echoing the new IPC report, in which the UN health agency has participated.
In terms of health, the WHO recalls that attacks on health facilities in the strip have caused a 58% of hospitals have stopped operating, especially in the north of the territory, where three out of four are not operational.
Hunger as a “method of war”
Israel commits a war crime in Gaza by using the starvation of the population as a “method of war,” said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday.
The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a consequence of the enormous restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid.
“The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a consequence of the enormous restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, of the displacement of the majority of the population, as well as the destruction of vital civil infrastructure”declared the head of human rights at the UN.
In a clear and direct statement, Türk maintained that the permanent restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the way in which it has conducted hostilities for more than five months, subjecting the entire population to collective punishment, constitute methods that can be classified as a war crime.
He maintained that if episodes of chaos and civil disorder are being seen, it is because the desperation is immense, to the point that families are resorting to the extreme decision of sending the children who are still in the north of Gaza to the south alone and on foot. , hoping that there they will find something to eat and help.
In the south there are more than 1.8 million people displaced and also suffering from hungeralthough famine and deaths from starvation are occurring more widely in the northern sector of the Strip, which was the first target of Israel's attacks and from where the vast majority of the population has fled.
Before the war, Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip for 16 years, during which the human rights of the population were violated.
Türk recalled that, before the war, Israel maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip for 16 years, a period in which the human rights of the population were violated, the economic fabric was decimated and the Gazans became dependent on external aid. .
The high commissioner once again insisted that Israel, as an occupying power, is obliged to guarantee the supply of food and medical care to meet the needs of the population, as well as to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations.
* With EFE
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