1st-Ever Middle East Famine Declared by UN, Israel Rejects Accusation

The UN officially declared a state of famine in Gaza on Friday, 22nd August, a first for the Middle East, following warnings from its experts that 500,000 people were in a “catastrophic” condition. The UN’s humanitarian operations chief, Tom Fletcher, placed clear responsibility for the crisis on Israel, which he accused of “systematic obstruction.”

Fletcher stated in Geneva that the “famine of Gaza” was a preventable crisis that “should haunt us all.

” This declaration comes after months of warnings about a looming famine in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Israel, however, has rejected the accusation of deliberate starvation, calling the UN announcement biased and “based on Hamas lies,” while insisting that there is “no famine in Gaza.”

Amnesty International had also accused Israel earlier this week of a “deliberate policy” of famine.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN body, confirmed the famine is underway in the Gaza governorate (Gaza City and its surroundings) and is expected to spread to the Deir el-Balah and Khan Younès governorates by the end of September.

A spokesperson for the IPC noted that this is the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East, contrasting it with a 2018 scare in Yemen that did not materialise.

Approximately one million people live in the Gaza governorate, with half a million in both Deir el-Balah and Khan Younès.

The crisis has seen Palestinian women and children waiting for food from a charitable kitchen in Khan Younès.

Source: Defi Media