The Gaza Strip faces an escalating crisis with potential famine looming unless Israel lifts its blockade and halts its military operations, experts in food security warned on Monday. With nearly half a million Palestinians at risk of starvation and another million grappling with severe food shortages, the situation in the region is described as dire based on research by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a leading authority in assessing hunger crises. The group cautioned that the risk of a full-blown famine is very high if the current conditions persist.
For over ten weeks, Israel has enforced a complete ban on the entry of food, shelter, medicine, and other essentials into Gaza, while simultaneously launching airstrikes and ground operations. The population in Gaza, numbering approximately 2.3 million, is heavily dependent on external aid for survival due to the prolonged military campaign that has devastated local food production capabilities. Despite this, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the IPC’s findings, asserting that earlier predictions were exaggerated and overlooked the aid provided during a temporary ceasefire earlier this year.
As the food supplies dwindle dramatically, communal kitchens have become the last bastion of food distribution for many. However, these are also at the brink of closure due to depleted stocks. Thousands of residents regularly gather at these kitchens, desperately waiting for hours to receive meager rations of food, such as lentils or pasta. One resident, Riham Sheikh el-Eid in southern Khan Younis, recounted the exhaustion from waiting in line for hours only to leave with insufficient food.
Chris Newton, an analyst focused on the impact of starvation in conflict for the International Crisis Group, argued that even without an official famine declaration, the conditions on the ground indicate starvation is already occurring. He criticized Israel’s strategy as a means to dismantle Hamas through severe restrictions that affect the lives of millions.
Israel maintains its blockade, conditioning the resumption of aid delivery on a new system that grants it control over the distribution process, citing concerns about Hamas misappropriating supplies. The Israeli military claims ample aid was delivered during a ceasefire period, which it interrupted in mid-March by renewing military activities. Despite diplomatic efforts, including those by the United States to devise a new aid mechanism, the United Nations has yet to agree, arguing that the proposed system is inadequate and politically motivated.
Findings released on Monday revealed that any improvements experienced during the ceasefire have reversed, plunging the majority of Gaza’s population back into severe hunger. The report attributes this to a culmination of conflict, infrastructural decay, agricultural devastation, and sustained aid blockades. Mahmoud Alsaqqa, Oxfam’s food security coordinator, urged international advocacy to ensure unrestricted humanitarian access, warning that silence in such a humanitarian disaster is tantamount to complicity.
In the wake of Hamas’s unexpected attack on Israel in October 2023, which resulted in significant casualties and numerous hostages, Israel found itself on a determined path to dismantle the group. The ongoing military offensive has caused heavy casualties on the Palestinian side, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting over 52,000 deaths, including many women and children.
The IPC, established in response to Somalia’s 2004 famine, has only declared famine in limited instances, notably in parts of Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan’s Darfur region. For famine to be declared, certain criteria must be met, including severe food shortages, widespread malnutrition among children, and high mortality rates due to starvation. The current findings indicate that one of these criteria is already met in Gaza.
As the blockade and military operations continue unabated, the report warns of a grim future with the majority of Gaza’s residents unable to secure food and water, increasing civil unrest, health service collapse, and potentially crossing into famine conditions. Previous warnings of imminent famine in northern Gaza led to temporary aid inflows, but aid organizations now describe the situation as the most severe they have witnessed. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported a sharp rise in the number of children requiring treatment for malnutrition, though supplies are nearly exhausted.
With the markets depleted and prices for what little remains skyrocketing, food scarcity poses a severe challenge. The FAO noted substantial damage to farmland, with over three-quarters affected and many irrigation wells out of operation, worsening the food crisis. The destruction of agricultural infrastructure further nudges the population closer to famine levels, as per Bechdol from the FAO.