According to the WHO, 63 people died from hunger in July alone: 24 of them were children under five. And according to another UN report, 14,000 people will suffer from severe acute malnutrition by September.
Individuals are perishing from starvation in the Gaza Strip. The famine in Gaza has reached extreme levels, causing many deaths. There is no food left. And obtaining it through humanitarian aid distribution channels has become dangerous, as evidenced by the recurring increase in victims killed by live ammunition fired at those queuing for food distribution . The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on July 27 that 74 people in Gaza have died from starvation, with 63 of the deaths taking place in July alone. According to the World Health Organization, these figures include many deaths brought on by a lack of access to necessary medical care.
What the WHO report says
According to data released by the WHO, 24 children under the age of five were among those who died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in July . According to the World Health Organization, one in five children in this age group suffers from acute malnutrition, a percentage that has tripled since June. And “given the difficulties many families face in reaching health centers ,” the statement reads, “these numbers underestimate the phenomenon . ” What is known for certain is that over 5,000 children under the age of five received outpatient treatment for symptoms of malnutrition in the first two weeks of July alone.
“A crisis ,” writes the WHO, “entirely preventable. The deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has resulted in the loss of many lives .” Not only that: even attempting to recover food is risky. According to the World Health Organization , since May 27, 1,060 people have been killed and 7,200 injured while trying to obtain food.
There is famine in Gaza
A situation that, without intervention, risks worsening between now and September. This is according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) , a group that brings together 21 intergovernmental agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, the WHO itself, and UNICEF, the UN agency for children. This organization has created the Acute Food Insecurity Scale, a five-level scale that illustrates challenges in obtaining food. It ranges from minimal risk, a situation in which no particular effort is needed to feed oneself, to the phase defined as famine. An alert issued by the IPC on July 29 indicates that by September, the Gaza Strip’s population will reach the three highest levels of this scale: crisis, emergency, and famine.
According to IPC estimates, two out of three key indicators for officially declaring famine have been exceeded in some parts of the country , but according to UN agencies, the third – death rate from hunger or related diseases – is rising rapidly, although it is difficult to measure precisely.
With flour prices having increased by between 1,400 and 5,600 percent since last February and fishing being impossible due to Israel’s sea access ban , the IPC writes, the survival of a portion of the population in Gaza relies on humanitarian assistance.
The IPC alert also states that poor access to gas and drinking water is also making food preparation difficult, and it is increasingly common to burn waste for cooking, posing obvious health risks. According to IPC estimates, between now and September, more than 56,000 people in the Gaza Strip will suffer from moderate acute malnutrition, while another 14,000 will suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
