The committee found that famine (phase 5 on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) is now occurring in Gaza Governorate, with the phase 5 threshold projected to be crossed in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in the coming weeks.
“As this famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed,” the Famine Review Committee report said.
It added that the current catastrophic shortage of food availability inside the Gaza Strip comes as a result of three compounding factors including the destruction of domestic food production systems by Israel, import limitations due to a blockade on aid and the displacement of populations away from available food sources or production systems.
“If a ceasefire is not implemented to allow humanitarian aid to reach everyone in the Gaza Strip, and if essential food supplies, and basic health, nutrition, and WASH services are not restored immediately, avoidable deaths will increase exponentially,” continued the report.
The UN human rights chief Volker Turk told reporters that the emergence of famine in Gaza is the “direct result of actions taken by the Israeli government”, adding that deaths from starvation may amount to war crimes.
The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli minister of defence, for their role in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and numerous other human rights organisations and scholars have determined that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, while a Lancet study from more than a year ago said the death toll in Gaza could have already exceeded 186,000.
Last month, 151 senior figures from within the food and drink sector demanded an end to Israel’s starvation of civilians in Gaza and called on the UK Government to take urgent action.
The letter, coordinated by Pip & Nut CEO Pippa Murray, was sent to prime minister Keir Starmer, foreign secretary David Lammy and all MPs demanding action on the systematic starvation of Palestinians by Israel.
