The international food watchdog IPC warns Tuesday that the food crisis in the Gaza Strip is unfolding according to the “worst-case scenario.” According to the IPC, there is widespread starvation and malnutrition, with an increase in the number of deaths due to hunger as a result.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) already warned in May that a famine was threatening due to persistent food shortages. Since then, the organization has only seen the situation in Gaza deteriorate. As a result, the “worst-case scenario” is now unfolding there.
One in three Gazans has gone without food for days, reports the IPC. The United Nations-affiliated organization writes that malnutrition has increased significantly in the first half of July.
But the IPC also says that the warning should not be seen as a determination that there is already a famine. The organization says that classification will only be formally assigned after an analysis. That will be carried out “without delay.”
“The new IPC Snapshot leaves no doubt: the worst-case scenario has become a reality in Gaza,” says UN children’s rights organization UNICEF in a response. “Children are dying of hunger, disease and lack of medical care.”
‘Death by starvation is a daily reality’
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warns that the need is now so high that it is almost impossible to respond adequately.
CARE Netherlands goes a step further. “Death by starvation is no longer a threat, but a daily reality,” says spokesperson Deniz Dönmez.
The IPC states that 88 percent of Gaza is now considered a militarized area or is under evacuation order. This makes it increasingly difficult for residents of Gaza to obtain food. In addition, searching for food is not without risk. According to the UN, at least a thousand people have died at aid locations in recent weeks.
Trump contradicts Netanyahu and sees hunger in Gaza
Under great international pressure, including from 111 (international) aid organizations and US President Donald Trump, Israel has been allowing slightly more aid into Gaza since Sunday, including via airdrops. These are a drop in the ocean, the Red Cross said recently in conversation with NU.nl.
“The solution is unimpeded and full access for all those many thousands and thousands of trucks (standing at the border, ed.)”, a spokesperson said.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, says that two hundred trucks entered Gaza on Sunday. That is slightly more than usual, but aid organizations consistently say that a minimum of six hundred loads per day are needed for the basic needs of the population. The WFP also says on Tuesday that the organization has not yet succeeded in getting the required amounts of food into Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar acknowledges on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza is “difficult.” On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office shared a statement to the same effect. But both Saar and Netanyahu claim that there is no starvation in Gaza. Trump would not accept that on Monday. According to the president, the images leave little room for doubt: “You can’t stage something like that.”