A quarter of Gaza’s population is one step away from famine: UN
- February 27, 2024
- 0
At least 576 thousand people Gaza Strip – a quarter of the population – are one step away from hungerthe UN’s top aid official, denounced the Security Council,
At least 576 thousand people Gaza Strip – a quarter of the population – are one step away from hungerthe UN’s top aid official, denounced the Security Council, warning that if action was not taken, widespread hunger.
“Very little can be done while fighting continues and there is a risk that it will spread to the overpopulated areas of southern Gaza.
“We therefore reiterate our call for a ceasefire,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
One in six children under two years of age suffers from acute malnutrition and wasting.
In northern Gaza, one in six children under two years of age suffers from acute malnutrition and wasting, and virtually all of the Palestinian enclave’s 2.3 million residents depend on “grossly insufficient” food aid to survive, he told the Security Council.
Rajasingham said the UN and aid groups face “insurmountable obstacles to ensure minimum supplies to Gaza.”
He said obstacles include closed border crossings, restrictions on movement and communications, onerous investigation procedures, unrest, damaged roads and unexploded ordnance.
The United States has called on its ally Israel to keep border crossings open to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and to encourage more crossings to open, Deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council.
“Simply put, Israel must do more,” he said. “We continue to call on Israel to improve procedures to ensure that aid can arrive safely and securely.”
Minor died during the Israeli attack.
The World Food Program “stands ready to rapidly expand and scale our activities if a ceasefire is agreed upon,” WFP Deputy Executive Director Karl Skau told the Security Council.
“But at the same time, the risk of famine is compounded by the inability to deliver critical food supplies to Gaza in sufficient quantities, as well as the almost impossible working conditions faced by our personnel on the ground,” Skau said.
“Our silence gives us the right to kill and starve the Palestinian population.”
Israel’s campaign in the Gaza Strip “is collective punishment for the Palestinian civilian population,” Algeria’s UN ambassador Amar Benjama told the Security Council.
“Our silence gives us the right to kill and starve the Palestinian population.”
Since October 7 last year Israel’s air and ground military offensive against the Gaza Strip has resulted in deaths about 30,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health authorities. (Reuters)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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