More than 100 organizations warn of a mass famine in Gaza and urgently call for an end to the war and the opening of the crossings
More than 100 non-governmental organizations warned Wednesday of the risk of a mass famine in Gaza, while the United States announced that envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Europe to hold talks aimed at finalizing a corridor for humanitarian aid to the Strip.
Israel is facing increasing international pressure over the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave, devastated by the ongoing war that has lasted for more than 21 months.
At the end of May, Israel partially eased the comprehensive blockade it had imposed on the Gaza Strip in early March, which had led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods.
On Tuesday, al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza announced that 21 children had died in Gaza over the past 72 hours due to malnutrition and famine, as the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Strip’s population reaches unprecedented levels and the United Nations warns that famine is knocking on every door.
On Wednesday, NGOs including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, Oxfam International, and several branches of Médecins du Monde and Caritas said, “As mass starvation spreads in the Gaza Strip, our colleagues and the people we help are suffering from emaciation”.
In their joint statement, the organizations called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the opening of all land crossings into the Gaza Strip, and ensuring the free flow of humanitarian aid into the territory.
This statement comes a day after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights accused the Israeli military of killing more than 1,000 people at aid distribution points in Gaza since the end of May, most of them near sites affiliated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organization supported by the United States and Israel and whose funding is opaque.
For its part, Israel accuses Hamas of exploiting the suffering of civilians, particularly by plundering humanitarian aid for resale at exorbitant prices or by shooting at those waiting for aid.
For its part, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation holds Hamas responsible for the humanitarian situation in the Strip.
Israeli authorities confirm that they regularly allow large quantities of aid to enter, but NGOs denounce numerous restrictions.
The humanitarian organizations said in their statement that “just outside the Gaza Strip, in warehouses—and even inside it—tons of food, drinking water, medical supplies, shelter materials, and fuel remain unused, as humanitarian organizations are not allowed to access or deliver them”.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that the horrors witnessed in the Gaza Strip due to the war between Israel and Hamas, particularly in terms of the number of deaths and widespread destruction, are unparalleled in modern history.
“It’s enough to witness the horror unfolding in Gaza, with a level of death and destruction unparalleled in modern history. Malnutrition is worsening, and famine is knocking on every door,” Guterres said during a UN Security Council meeting.
