The UN expressed alarm on Tuesday of an “almost inevitable widespread famine” in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory where, without humanitarian access and with a devastated agricultural system, it is “imminent”.
“If nothing changes, famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told the UN Security Council.
“We must persist and live up to our responsibilities to ensure that this does not happen before our eyes,” he added.
And the north of the Palestinian territory, besieged since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered on October 7 by the bloody attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, is not the only area at risk.
“If nothing is done, we fear that widespread famine in Gaza is almost inevitable,” added Ramesh Rajasingham, on behalf of the head of the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) Martin Griffiths.
“Immediate” action demanded
“It is the end of February, with at least 576,000 people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – one step away from famine.
With one in six children under the age of two in northern Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting.
And virtually the entire population of Gaza dependent on woefully inadequate humanitarian aid to survive,” he added, calling on the Council to act.
This meeting followed a letter sent on February 22 to the Security Council by Martin Griffiths, detailing the direct and indirect impacts of the war in Gaza on the food situation.
In this text, seen by AFP on Tuesday, he calls for “immediate action” to “prevent a famine caused by the conflict”.
Read alsoFamine, water shortage, lack of hygiene: in Gaza, a life without “prospects for the future”
In this regard, Council members must act to "ensure respect for humanitarian law, including the prohibition of using starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare", and the prohibition of destroying essential objects to survival (food, crops, livestock, agricultural assets, etc.), he insists.
Agricultural production collapsed in May
“According to the most likely scenario, agricultural production will have collapsed in the north by May,” Maurizio Martina, deputy director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, told the Council on Tuesday. (FAO).
As of February 15, 46.2% of agricultural land had been damaged in the Gaza Strip, with agricultural buildings "devastated", 339 ha of greenhouses and more than a quarter of wells destroyed, as well as some 70% of cows and 50 % of small ruminants killed, he noted.
Not to mention around 97% of groundwater is no longer usable for human consumption.
And humanitarian aid continues to enter the Palestinian territory in dribs and drabs.
On Monday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini noted on X that February had seen a 50% drop in aid entering Gaza compared to January.
February registered a 50% reduction of humanitarian aid entering #Gaza compared to January.
Aid was supposed to increase not decrease to address the huge needs of 2 million Palestinians in desperate living conditions.
Among the obstacles: lack of political will, regular closing…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 26, 2024
However, “nearly 1,000 trucks loaded with 15,000 tons of food are in Egypt, ready to move,” noted UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday.
No convoy has been able to reach northern Gaza since January 23, according to the UN, which denounces the obstructions of the Israeli authorities.