Declaration of famine in Gaza lays bare Israel’s disregard for humanitarian duty | Israel-Gaza war
The declaration of widespread famine in Gaza by the Integrated Food Safety Stage Classification (IPC) on Friday should mark a turning point in the war. Representing a meticulous research of existing data, the IPC is accepted as an international gold standard in nutritional crises.
In Gaza, IPC’s 5th level 5- “disaster” hunger-infiltration is an important moment. In accordance with the meticulous criteria of IPC, famine requires the transfer of three critical thresholds: excessive food deprivation, acute malnutrition and deaths related to hunger, all can be seen in Gaza.
One -quarter of all Palestinians in Gaza is starving – more than 500,000 people – this number is expected to rise more than 640,000 in six weeks.
A sign of the meticulousness of the IPC is that despite the suspicion that there is famine conditions in the north of Gaza, it does not declare famine there due to the shortage of reliable data.
Inevitably, Israel called on foul by accusing the IPC of manipulating Hamas and claiming that it provided enough food to Gaza.
However, this lie is challenged not only by the IPC’s decision, but also with the accumulation of all the existing evidence coming out of Gaza. Large and small aid agencies – including clinics of Médecins Sans Frontières – collects its own data on increasing acute malnutrition levels. Palestinian doctors, journalists and ordinary individuals told stories of going without food, dramatic weight loss and exhaustion for days.
The most vulnerable ones-very young and very old and previously existing medical situations-began to die as expected to see in a famine.
Israel’s response was not human. The spokesman and his deputies tried to minimize deaths, claiming that the dying ones still died for other reasons.
Israel, which prevented foreign media from accessing Gaza to reports independently, ferries to strengthen the denial of “impressive” on the sympathetic social media to Gaza: Hamas’s fault or Israel, a mother aid agency for Palestinians, forbade it to operate in Israel.
As the charity agencies complained in a joint letter at the beginning of this month – accusing Israel with the help of “arming” – the new Israeli registration rules prevented their ability to operate.
There are no permits for convoys or irregular or inadequate. Instead, Israel showed his confidence in the Private Gaza Human Foundation, which was murdered by Israeli gunfire seeking hundreds of aid.
However, the most curse is that, as described by IPC and UN agencies, the eruption of full famine is completely prevented.
In the last weeks and months of the insecurity of nutrition in Gaza, Israel could follow at any point to accept sufficient aid and create a reliable mechanism for safe and timely distribution. In 75% of the Gaza Strip, as a military invading force, it was under legal obligation within the scope of international law during this period to ensure this distribution.
Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, World Food Program and World Health Organization said on Friday, “Excessive urgency for increasing and full -scale human reactions, increasing and full -scale human reactions, the rapid deteriorating levels of food consumption levels emphasized.
The UN Secretary General António Guterres was also open. Gaza shortage, “a human -made disaster, a moral indictment and the failure of humanity itself,” he said, the ceasefire, the release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and the release of human access.
“People are hunger. Children are dying. And those who have a mobilization fail. We cannot allow this situation to be unpunished.”
Instead of allowing participation in the ceasefire and an appropriate emergency intervention, Israel threatens a newly large -scale attack where the famine is centered in Gaza, which will once again displace the desperate, Hundu and exhausted Palestinians without any evidence that Israel has made meaningful preparations to maintain such a great movement.
As David Miliband, the President of the International Rescue Committee and the Chairman of the Executive Officer: “Confirmation that IPC is overcome in the city of Gaza is a damaging claim of the failure of the protection of civilians and the failure of protection of humanitarian law. Warning signs are blinking red for months. IRC and others called over and over again for emergency action.
“IPC’s findings should be a call for a wake up for the international community. Immediately, without barrier access and ceasefire, hunger and disease will be lost more. This is not a natural disaster, a disaster of human beings, reveals the world exactly and can be completely prevented. “
This means that the UN was announced by the Human Rights Agency: it is a direct result of Israel’s actions. And therefore it may mean a war crime.
