Spread of Gaza famine has been averted yet strip still faces starvation, experts say

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The spread of famine has been averted in Gaza yet the situation remains critical with the entire strip still facing starvation, the world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday.

The new report by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, comes months after the group said famine was occurring in Gaza City and likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to humanitarian aid restrictions.

There were “notable improvements” in food security and nutrition following an October ceasefire and no famine has been detected, the report said. Still, the IPC warned the situation remains “highly fragile” and the entire Gaza Strip is in danger of starvation with nearly 2,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger through April.

In the worst-case scenario, including renewed conflict and a halt of aid, the whole strip is at risk of famine. Needs remain immense and sustained, expanded and unhindered aid is required, the IPC said.

The Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, known as COGAT, said Friday it strongly rejected the findings.

The agency adheres to the ceasefire and allows the agreed amount of aid to reach the strip, COGAT said, noting the aid quantities “significantly exceed the nutritional requirements of the population” in Gaza according to accepted international methodologies, including the United Nations.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Friday it also rejects the findings, saying the IPC’s report doesn’t reflect reality in Gaza and more than the required amount of aid was reaching the strip. The ministry said the IPC ignores the vast volume of aid entering Gaza because the group relies primarily on data related to United Nations trucks, which account for only 20% of all aid trucks.

The IPC said the report totals include commercial and U.N. trucks and its information is based on U.N. and COGAT data.

Israel’s government has rejected the IPC’s past findings, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the previous report an “outright lie.”

Ceasefire offsets famine

The report’s findings come as the shaky U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reaches a pivotal point as Phase 1 nears completion, with the remains of one hostage still in Gaza. The more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented and both sides have accused the other of violating the truce.

The IPC in August confirmed the grim milestone of famine for the first time in the Middle East and warned it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. More than half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of its population, faced catastrophic levels of hunger, with many at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the August report said.

Friday’s report said the spread of famine had been offset by a significant reduction in conflict, a proposed peace plan and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries.

There is more food on the ground and people now have two meals daily, up from one meal each day in July. That situation “is clearly a reversal of what had been one of the most dire situations where we were during the summer,” Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s director for the Palestinian territories, told U.N. reporters in a video briefing from Gaza City Thursday.

Food access has “significantly improved,” he said, warning that the greatest challenge now is adequate shelter for Palestinians, many of whom are soaked and living in water-logged tents. Aid groups say nearly 1.3 million Palestinians need emergency shelter as winter sets in.

Aid is still not enough

Displacement is one of the key drivers behind the food insecurity, with more than 70% of Gaza’s population living in makeshift shelters and relying on assistance. Other factors such as poor hygiene and sanitation as well as restricted access to food are also exacerbating the hunger crisis, the IPC said.

While humanitarian access has improved compared with previous analysis periods, that access fluctuates daily and is limited and uneven across the strip, the IPC said.

To prevent further loss of life, expanded humanitarian assistance including food, fuel, shelter and healthcare is urgently needed, according to the group’s experts, who warned that over the next 12 months more than 100,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition and require treatment.

Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest it has not met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza each day, though Israel disputes that finding. American officials with the U.S.-led center coordinating aid shipments into Gaza also say deliveries have reached the agreed levels.

Aid groups say despite increase of assistance, aid is still not reaching everyone in need after suffering two years of war.

“This is not a debate about truck numbers or calories on paper, it’s about whether people can actually access food, clean water, shelter and health care safely and consistently. Right now, they cannot,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

People must be able to rebuild their homes, grow food and recover and the conditions for that are still being denied, she said.

Even with more products in the markets Palestinians say they can’t afford it. “There is food and meat, but no one has money,” said Hany al-Shamali, who was displaced from Gaza City.

“How can we live?”

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Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.