Israel’s military bombs Gaza into unprecedented levels of hunger
In reaction to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report published today on Gaza warning of a risk of famine if intense hostilities and restricted humanitarian access persist or worsen, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, said:
“Gaza’s shocking descent into starvation was so predictable as to be premeditated; an ongoing war crime by the Government of Israel.
“This is irrefutable proof that Israel’s attacks have decimated Gaza’s already fragile food system so catastrophically that most people are no longer able to feed themselves and their families. People are being starved in Gaza. Unless there is an immediate ceasefire and a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid, Gaza risks being pushed into a famine.
“It is abhorrent and barely conceivable in 2023, that women, children and babies, the elderly and sick, the most vulnerable people have had their food weaponised against them. The horror felt by a mother unable to feed her child is the horror of Gaza today.
“While over 90 percent of people in Gaza cannot find their next meal, some UN Security Council member states are still toying with words rather than voting for a ceasefire.
“Those within the international community who have refused to rein in Israel’s military machine and its collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza today stand shamed and complicit – this scandal is on your watch. You must no longer patronise this Israeli aggression that is killing so many civilians, even as it fails in its own terms by sowing the seeds of future insecurity for both Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
Notes to Editor
- Starvation as a weapon of war being used against Gaza civilians, Oxfam press release, 25 Oct 2023
- Read IPC Gaza Report HERE https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-94/en/
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is an innovative multi-partner initiative of 19 organisations – including Oxfam - and intergovernmental institutions. The IPC initiative provides food security and nutrition analysis to inform decision-making.
- The IPC assessment was done between 24 November and 4 December, 2023. The figures are likely an underestimate of the situation now.
For interviews, contact Lucy Brown on 0478 190 099 / lucyb@oxfam.org.au
