A committee of global food security experts has issued a grave warning, stating there is a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of northern Gaza, as Israel continues its military offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is essential from all parties involved in the conflict, or those with influence over its conduct, to prevent and mitigate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) stated in a rare alert.
This warning comes just days before a deadline set by the United States for Israel to enhance the humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk facing restrictions on US military aid.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that between 75,000 and 95,000 individuals remain in northern Gaza.
The FRC indicated that it could be “assumed that starvation, malnutrition, and excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease are rapidly increasing” in northern Gaza.
“Famine thresholds may have already been crossed or will be in the near future,” the committee warned.
The US has stated that it is closely monitoring Israel’s military actions in northern Gaza to ensure that its ally does not engage in a “policy of starvation” in the region.
The FRC evaluates findings from the global hunger monitor, an internationally recognized standard known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
The IPC defines famine as occurring when at least 20% of the population in a given area is experiencing extreme food shortages, with at least 30% of children acutely malnourished and two individuals out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
The IPC is a collaborative effort involving UN agencies, national governments, and aid organizations that establishes the global benchmark for assessing food crises.
Last month, the IPC warned that the entire Gaza Strip was at risk of famine, while UN officials recently described northern Gaza as “apocalyptic,” indicating that everyone there is “at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and violence.”
According to UN data, the flow of aid into Gaza has dropped to its lowest level in a year, with the organization consistently accusing Israel of obstructing and blocking efforts to deliver assistance, particularly to the northern region of the territory.
In 88% of recorded incidents, five or more people fell victim to the same attack, reported the UN.
Last month, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the Security Council that the problem in Gaza was not a lack of aid, claiming that more than one million tonnes had been delivered over the past year.
He accused Hamas of commandeering the assistance.
In response, Hamas has consistently denied accusations of stealing aid, asserting that Israel is responsible for the shortages.
“The daily average of trucks entering Gaza in late October was approximately 58 per day,” stated Jean-Martin Bauer of the UN World Food Programme.
“In contrast, we were receiving roughly 200 trucks daily in September and August, which represents a significant decline,” he added.
The UN reported that almost 70% of the casualties in the Gaza conflict have been women and children.
The UN Human Rights Office revealed that nearly 70% of the fatalities verified during the Gaza war were women and children, condemning what it described as a systemic violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
This figure pertains to the first seven months of the conflict.
It includes only those fatalities which have been verified through three sources, and the counting process is ongoing.
The 8,119 verified victims in this seven-month duration is significantly lower than the toll of over 43,000 reported by Palestinian health authorities for the entire 13 months of conflict.
Nevertheless, the UN’s demographic breakdown of the victims supports the Palestinian claim that women and children constitute a significant portion of those who have perished.
This evidence points to “a systematic violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality,” according to a statement from the UN rights office.
“It is imperative that there is accountability regarding allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies, and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence is collected and preserved,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
Photos showed a woman comforting a child outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah following an Israeli airstrike.
The head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ajith Sunghay, informed reporters in Geneva that the fatalities included in the report were validated by three sources, such as neighbors, family members, local NGOs, hospital records, or UN personnel.
“The numbers are, of course, vast when compared to previous years; thus, we need time to catch up and verify,” he remarked.
Mr. Sunghay expressed that he believed the final UN tally would likely align closely with the Palestinian figures.
Israel has not yet commented on the findings of the report.
The Israeli military asserted that it takes measures to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
It added that approximately one civilian has been killed for every fighter, a statistic it attributes to Hamas, which it accuses of using civilian facilities.
Hamas has denied accusations of employing civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as shields.
The youngest verified victim was a one-day-old boy, while the oldest was a 97-year-old woman, as reported.
Overall, children accounted for 44% of the victims, with those aged between five and nine being the largest age group, followed by those aged 10-14, and then those aged up to four years old.
This broadly reflects the demographics of Gaza, and the report indicated an apparent failure to take adequate precautions to prevent civilian casualties.
It showed that in 88% of cases, five or more individuals were killed in the same attack, indicating the Israeli military’s use of weapons with widespread effects, although it noted that some fatalities could have resulted from stray projectiles fired by Palestinian armed groups.
