UN: Starvation In Gaza 'Promotion' Israel As A Weapons Of War

Gazans waiting for food/DOC PHOTOS FOR UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

JAKARTA - The top UN humanitarian official described the hunger crisis announced in Gaza's gubernatoriality in the Gaza Strip as a disaster "predictable and prevented" because it was deliberately triggered by an aid barrier by Israel.

"This is a hunger disaster that we can actually prevent if we are allowed," Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA), told a news conference in Geneva, Friday, August 22, reported by ANTARA from Anadolu.

However, food stocks are piling up on the border due to Israel's systematic barriers. "This is a hunger disaster that is only a few hundred meters away from food sources in fertile soil," he said.

Fletcher said this incident was "a 21st-century capability supervised by drones (nirawak aircraft) and the most advanced military technology in history."

"This is hunger that has been publicly promoted by some Israeli leaders as weapons of war. It is hunger that we all watch. Everyone is responsible for this. Gaza's hunger is world hunger," he added.

He stressed the adverse effects of the crisis on Gazans, and explained the hunger was attacking those most vulnerable, "forcing parents to choose which children to feed, which forces people to risk their lives looking for food."

"That's enough. Ceasefire, open all crossings, north and south. Allow the distribution of food and other supplies without obstacles and on a large scale required. End the retaliation," Fletcher said.

"It's too late for a lot of people, but not for everyone in Gaza," he said.

Fletcher's statement surfaced after the Classification of the Integrated Food Safety Phase (IPC) confirmed hunger in Gaza's Governorship, one of the five Gaza Strip regions, in which Israel has killed more than 62 thousand Palestinians since October 2023.

Global hunger watchers project that hunger will spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in a few weeks.