World Food Program Officials Say Starvation In Gaza Can Overcome Limits In Six Weeks

Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza. (UNRWA/Hussein Owda)

JAKARTA - Starvation in the Gaza Strip, Palestine can exceed the threshold in six weeks, causing food insecurity, malnutrition and death according to World Food Program (WFP) officials.

"We are getting closer day by day with the hunger situation," said the World Food Program (WFP) Director in Geneva, Switzerland Gian Caro Cirri, as reported by Reuters on April 25.

"There is plausible evidence that all three thresholds of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition and death will be missed in the next six weeks," he said.

Cirri spoke at the launch of a report from Global Network Against Food Crisis, an alliance of humanitarian and development actors including United Nations (UN) agencies, the World Bank, the European Union and the United States on Wednesday.

In its report, the network describes the 2024 outlook for the Middle East and Africa is deeply concerning, as Gaza's war and limited humanitarian access, as well as the risk of conflict spreading elsewhere in the region.

"Especially for Gaza, conflict makes it difficult and sometimes it is impossible to reach the people affected," said Cirri.

"We need to increase our aid on a large scale. But under current conditions, I am afraid the situation will worsen," he said.

A UN-backed report published in March said hunger was imminent and would likely occur in May in northern Gaza and could spread throughout the enclave in July.

On Tuesday, a US official said the risk of starvation in Gaza, particularly in the northern part, was very high.

It is known that the United Nations has long complained of obstacles to incorporating aid and distributing it throughout Gaza in six months since Israel began air and ground attacks on the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

On the other hand, Israel denies hampering the supply of humanitarian aid, instead blaming aid agencies for inefficiencies in its distribution.

Israel's military campaign has made most areas of 2.3 million people into deserts with humanitarian disasters that have occurred since October 7, when Hamas sparked war by storming Israel's southern region.

Cirri said the only way to avoid starvation in Gaza is to ensure direct and daily delivery of food supplies.

"They have sold their belongings to buy food. They are mostly impoverished. And obviously some of them are dying from hunger," he said.