MORE than half a million people in Gaza are “starving” because not enough food is entering the territory after the outbreak of war more than 10 weeks ago, a United Nations report has warned.
“It is a situation where pretty much everybody in Gaza is hungry,” said World Food Programme chief economist Arif Husain.
He warned that if the war between Israel and Hamas continues at the same levels and food deliveries are not restored that the population could face “a full-fledged famine within the next six months”.
The report released on Thursday by 23 UN and non-governmental agencies found that the entire population in Gaza is in a food crisis, with 576,600 at catastrophic — or starvation — levels.
It said: "Even though the levels of acute malnutrition and non-trauma related mortality might not have yet crossed famine thresholds, these are typically the outcomes of prolonged and extreme food consumption gaps. The increased nutritional vulnerability of children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and the elderly is a particular source of concern."
Trucks bringing aid from Egypt have delivered some food, water and medicine, but the United Nations says the quantity of food is just 10% of what's needed for the territory's inhabitants, most of whom have been displaced.
The offensive has devastated much of northern Gaza, killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, and driven some 1.9 million people — nearly 85% of the Palestinian territory’s population — from their homes.
The widespread destruction and heavy civilian death toll has drawn increasing international calls for a ceasefire. Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it destroys Hamas.
