The Integrated Food Safety Classification Report (IPC), prepared by NGOs, institutions and specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN), was published on Tuesday (29) and warned about impending mass deaths due to the escalation of conflicts in the region, mass displacements and restrictions on humanitarian aid. They also stressed that “the worst hunger situation is underway in the Gaza Strip.”
The document also points out that the crisis in Palestinian territory, hit by nearly two years of war, “has reached an alarming and lethal point” and pointed out that the way the groceries are being taken to the region through airlines recently authorized by Israelis, requires more costs, is less effective and more dangerous than shipping by land, “not being enough to reverse the catastrophe either to reverse either. humanitarian ”.
A survey by the consortium showed that, in May this year, about 1.95 million inhabitants of Gaza, equivalent to 93% of the population, were in a situation of “crisis”. Included in this data, 925,000 faced a “emergency” condition and 244,000 lived a “catastrophe” situation. A new research is already underway, according to the report.
Israel faces great international pressure to end the full blockade imposed on Gaza since March. The UN also warned the Israelis for using hunger as a weapon of war. “One in three people spends several days without eating absolutely nothing,” adds the report.
“More than 20,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition between April and mid -July, of which more than 3,000 suffer from severe malnutrition. Hospitals reported a rapid increase in hunger -related deaths among children under the age of five, with at least 16 deaths since July 17,” the IPC says.
The document concludes arguing that for the situation to end, immediate and large -scale action is required, and allowed, without impediments, humanitarian access. “Not acting now will imply mass deaths in much of the Gaza Strip.”
