A new report warns that essential supplies in Gaza are nearly depleted, with the entire population facing acute food insecurity.
By Nathan Morley
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, told the BBC that he was running out of words “to describe the misery and the tragedy affecting the people in Gaza.
This week, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that one in five people—about 500,000—are at risk of starvation.
Food prices have surged, with a 25-kilogram sack of wheat flour now costing between $235 and $520, a 3,000 percent increase since February. The IPC cautioned that continued military operations and the blockade of humanitarian aid could severely limit access to survival essentials.
Palestinian youths scrape out leftovers from the bottom of a pot at a charity kitchen providing hot meals at the Islamic University campus in Gaza City (AFP or licensors)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm over the findings, highlighting the extreme hunger affecting children. The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF report worsening malnutrition since aid deliveries were halted on March 2.
WFP chief Cindy McCain said families are starving while food remains stuck at the border, warning that if action is delayed until famine is officially declared, it will be too late for many. Aid organizations in Gaza report a sharp drop in hot meal distribution, with only 260,000 meals provided today—down 70 percent from 840,000 just five days earlier.
The UN says more than 60 of the 180 kitchens it supports had closed after using up their last remaining supplies. Humanitarians also report that adults are prioritizing feeding their children over themselves when they do find something to eat.
Furthermore, the UN says an Israeli proposal to deliver aid supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.
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