Gaza [Palestine], August 25: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that famine in Gaza is "man-made" and called for urgent international action to prevent further deaths.
"This famine is man-made - it is the result of systematic obstruction, indifference and delay," the agency said in a post on X. OCHA called for an immediate ceasefire, the large-scale opening of crossings, and unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged enclave.
"This is not a headline. It is real lives at stake," it said.
The warning follows confirmation from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed monitor, that famine exists in part of Gaza and is likely to spread in the coming weeks without major changes on the ground.
Al Jazeera's Ibrahim Al Khalili reported from inside the main UNRWA warehouse in Gaza City, showing bare shelves where food aid used to be stored. "The situation is getting much more catastrophic, . complete depletion of all kinds of supplies, leaving displaced families desperate to fend for themselves and to survive the next day," Al Khalili said.
He noted that UNRWA said it had "6,000 trucks worth of food and medicine" ready to cross into Gaza and Israel must allow aid to enter.
The famine declared in Gaza on Friday by IPC only confirms what aid workers have been witnessing for months, Liz Allcock of Medical Aid for Palestinians says. The IPC, an independent body of experts, said its declaration was based on "extremely rigorous" evidence with 514,000 people, a quarter of Gaza's population, already in famine conditions. The figure is expected to rise further.
"If anything, it's quite late," Allcock said. She said famine conditions are visible daily across Gaza. "It's not only children, the images that you see with the swollen bellies and the skin-and-bone arms," she said.
"It's also elderly people who are unable to get access to any kind of food. It's also healthcare staff, aid workers who are fainting on the job because they don't have enough food or sustenance to keep them going."
Israel has also escalated attacks on Gaza City as it moves forward with its plan to seize it and force its population south, The attacks reportedly killed more than 30 Palestinians on Sunday, including children and aid seekers.
Source: Qatar Tribune