Gaza Faces Famine: Urgent Calls for Cease-fire and Aid Intensify

The Gaza Strip is currently experiencing severe food shortages, with the global hunger monitor indicating that famine levels have already been exceeded in parts of the region, leading to a critical situation where mass death is imminent without immediate intervention. According to the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), 70% of the population in northern Gaza is facing extreme food scarcity, a situation far beyond the 20% threshold typically considered to indicate famine. The IPC warns that without an immediate cease-fire and a significant increase in food supplies, the area will soon see famine-scale deaths, defined as two individuals per 10,000 dying daily due to starvation or related diseases.

So far, 27 children and three adults have reportedly died from malnutrition in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run government. The IPC stresses the urgent need for a cease-fire and enhanced humanitarian and commercial access to all of Gaza’s population to prevent further fatalities. Currently, around 1.1 million Gazans, nearly half the population, are facing “catastrophic” food shortages, with about 300,000 people at risk of famine-scale death rates.

This crisis has led to strong criticism of Israel from Western allies following its conflict with Hamas militants. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, while Israel insists it has allowed extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Britain’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, have both called for urgent action to prevent a famine.