A catastrophic famine is imminent and inevitable in northern Gaza unless a massive and immediate surge of humanitarian aid is allowed into the besieged territory, a major new United Nations-backed report has concluded.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, the global body for assessing food crises, found that the entire 2.2 million population of Gaza is now facing "high levels of acute food insecurity." The most severe classification – Phase 5, or Catastrophe – applies to 1.1 million people, a number unprecedented in the IPC's history.
Point of No Return
The report states that famine is projected to occur in the northern governates between now and May 2023. "The fastest possible escalation in the delivery of humanitarian aid is required to prevent a famine," it warns, noting that aid must not only arrive but also be distributed effectively to households.
This assessment sharply increases pressure on the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The United States, its staunchest ally, has expressed "heartbreak and outrage" at the situation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, "We cannot have a man-made famine in Gaza. We need to make sure that our focus is on getting assistance to people who need it."
Aid Bottlenecks and Accusations
Despite Israeli officials stating they are not limiting aid, UN agencies and humanitarian organisations cite overwhelming obstacles at Israeli checkpoints, cumbersome inspection processes, and ongoing hostilities as major impediments to delivery. The number of aid trucks entering Gaza remains far below the 500 per day that agencies deem necessary.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell went further, directly accusing Israel of using starvation as a "weapon of war." The fear of an Israeli ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah, where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, threatens to completely collapse the already fragile humanitarian response.
The international community is now scrambling to find alternative aid routes, including a temporary sea corridor from Cyprus. However, aid groups stress that land routes remain the only viable way to transport the sheer volume of supplies needed to avert a historic tragedy.
