‘Strong likelihood’ of imminent famine in north Gaza: Food security experts
Al Jazeera
Famine thresholds ‘may have already been crossed or else will be in the near future’, Famine Review Committee warns.
There is a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of northern Gaza, according to a committee of global food security experts, as Israeli forces press on with a major offensive in the area.
“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said in a rare alert on Friday.
The warning comes just days before a United States deadline for Israel, which started its offensive in the north of the enclave last month, to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that there are between 75,000 and 95,000 people still in northern Gaza.
The FRC said it could be “assumed that starvation, malnutrition, and excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease, are rapidly increasing” in north Gaza.
