Famine in Gaza

At long last, United Nations has declared famine in Gaza, the Palestinian territory in the grip of a brutal war over the past 22 months. However, the denial of humanitarian aid over the past four months has turned the situation catastrophic on the ground. According to the latest UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, more than half a million people in Gaza are already trapped in famine conditions, with starvation, preventable disease and death tightening their grip by the day. By the end of September, over 640,000 will face food insecurity, while more than a million others hover just one rung below. Malnutrition among children has risen at a pace never before recorded: 12,000 acutely malnourished in July alone, a six-fold jump since January. The world is watching a modern famine unfold in real time, a famine in a fertile land, within sight of storage sites stacked with food.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres rightly calls it “a failure of humanity itself.” Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, put it bluntly: “It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food.”

As the occupying power, Israel bears clear obligations under international law to ensure access to food and medical supplies. Denial of those duties cannot be papered over with security arguments or political calculations. Starvation as a weapon of war is not only immoral, it is a war crime. The international community must also bear its share of responsibility for failing to apply consistent pressure, and for just issuing condemnation statements.

But only condemnation is not enough. We need the world to act in concert to put a stop to this unmitigated tragedy. The world should ensure a humanitarian access to Gaza, and a ceasefire that halts the spiral of death and displacement.

It goes without saying that this famine is a stain on the conscience of the world. The conflict needs a durable political solution, one that ensures security for both Israelis and Palestinians. This alone will ensure the end of the cycle of bloodshed in a way that ensures that this horror is never repeated.