Catastrophic hunger - 40% of Gaza's population at risk of famine

[Createaplant]

Being reported by the Guardian:

40% of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said on Saturday.

“Every day is a struggle for survival, finding food and water,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees added.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/dec/30/israel-gaza-war-live-hamas-palestinians-khan-younis-deaths-un-aid-us#:~:text=40%25%20of%20Gaza's%20population%20is,is%20grappling%20with%20catastrophic%20hunger.

Too sad and completely unnecessary. If only adequate aid, food and water was allowed in.

Distressing video showing aid being driven through northern Gaza, quote from Insta post copied below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1ltfuygeXO/

"Aid Distribution trucks that are not authorised to stop in Northern Gaza dropping off whatever they can to starving people.

🚨 if trucks stop, drivers may be shot by snipers.

So they drop off what they can.

Devastating and sobering to see. Please watch until the end."

Here is a link to an article from Time on 22 Dec which gives estimates from 23 agencies on the ground.
They reckon is hungry but 576,600 people were at catastrophic or starvation levels last week.
https://time.com/6550063/un-gaza-hunger-report-palestinians-israel-conflict/

Absolutely terrifying and awful.

Here is a heartbreaking video of children so hungry they are trying to collect flour from the ground in Gaza.

Malnutrition in children is very distressing in a particular gut wrenching way. It’s kind of hard to describe what it feels like to hold a baby that is underweight, to look into the little face that’s too mature for the chronological age and just will them to recover, even when you know some infection will probably carry them off.I know that most of the posters here that feel the bombardment has to go ahead would change their minds if they could experience the reality of starvation

I believe that the deputy prime minister of the Netherlands is giving up her job to try and sort the distribution problems out from 8 January so if that goes ahead it would be a cause for some hope on the distribution. Apart from a proven track record, she’s a mum of four and you do feel that will make a difference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigrid_Kaag

Malnutrition stunts growth and can cause long term chronic poor health up to sudden premature death. Rickets. Beri-beri. Blindness. Scurvy. These are not diseases of the past.

I just don’t get the argument presented here that Israel has to prevent food from going into Gaza because otherwise Hamas would steal it. I mean it’s food, not weapons or even fuel which could be used against Israel.
If they are allowing in, what, 10% of the food Gazans need (a figure I saw weeks ago, not saying it’s accurate now) is the argument that they are trying to starve Hamas out so all the other civilians have to starve too to achieve that goal? Or that they think starving Palestinians will somehow turn against Hamas (as if they’d have the energy!). Or what?
Or is the claim that Israel are actually allowing a reasonable amount of food in but Hamas is stealing it all?

@LifeofBrienne

Gazans are reporting that food inflation is a huge problem. Shops are charging extortionate prices for basic foodstuffs. So the food stolen can be turned into a cash source.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/30/were-not-here-to-beg-gaza-residents-anger-over-steep-rise-in-prices

It is because food is so scarce that it is being exploited as a cash source. If the right amount of food were getting into and being safely distributed, this wouldn’t be happening- the better off surviving while the poor starve. There would be no incentive to steal.

The better off are far more likely to be Hamas collaborators. So restricting humanitarian aid is only further pushing the most innocent and vulnerable to die in their tens of thousands. While it is simultaneously ensuring that Hamas and their collaborators get priority for all food, water, medicine and so on.

When aid agencies are allowed to do their job they use black market food prices as one of the feedback metrics to fine tune supply and demand.

Equitable distribution of food aid under heavy fire with a highly mobile population is a completely impossible job. It's hard enough under any circumstances, but all family records etc. which would offer a basis proper distribution system will be completely obsolete because of population movement. Older people, those who have disabilities, large and female-headed households won't stand a chance of getting what they need. I feel incredibly sorry for those who are tasked with this job with massively inadequate supplies and fuel.

Absolutely agree. It’s just amazing that serious rioting and anarchy hasn’t broken out.

@Kindatired I agree, and no surprise that aid is being taken from trucks - people are desperate and have no confidence that it can be delivered fairly

x.com/middleeasteye/status/1750135337626554665?s=46

"Hundreds of Israeli protesters gathered at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday to block and protest against aid trucks that are set to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza."

I don't understand why you would want to block aid trucks getting to millions of innocent people who are starving.

Shame on them.

The most moral army in the world are now planting bombs that explode on opening that are disguised as food cans in Khan Younis schools.

The level of depravity is just beyond imagination.

Could you, please, provide verified facts to support your assertions?

This is beyond belief.

Hate. Feeling they’re first class citizens whilst Palestinians are third or fourth. There are many videos about Israel citizens wishing the worse to Palestinians * so this brainless people will be the ones blocking aid to Palestinians. They don’t represent the whole country but unfortunately they exist and they’re shameful

• before anyone comes to tell me , yes I know there is hate toward Israel citizens as well from some Palestinians

So now we are seeing the first deaths from starvation.
Here is a graphic from the New York Times that shows how many trucks of food have been getting in.

A tenth child has died from starvation, according to UN report in Guardian Live today. Utterly shameful to support this.

'UN says a tenth child in a Gaza hospital has been registered as dying from starvation and warns 'real figure is likely to be higher'A tenth child in a Gaza hospital has been registered as having died from starvation, said the UN on Friday, warning that the “real figure is likely to be higher”.'

Yes, this just the direct deaths that are starting . Here are comments from a trauma surgeon on the ground in Gaza. I don’t know him personally but people I trained with know him he is bona fida, very experienced.
He says:
”Malnourishment is probably one of the biggest causes of wounds not healing,…..
Dr McMonagle says the patients who came in were "malnourished and severely malnourished….."I think history will judge us, just like history judges us in the second world war, just like history judges us after Rwanda and any conflict you can name."

https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2024/0229/1435272-gaza-irish-surgeon/

Yazan Kafarnah has died this morning

Here is a heartfelt plea from an Irish American posting in the New York Times.
“The peak of the Irish Famine lasted around 7 years from 1845 to1852. Around 1 million people died and 2 million left. It permanently changed the political and social landscape of Ireland and the USA where many found sanctuary. The roots of the Gaza calamity existed for decades but we are seeing the Irish famine recreated in a few months.
David Cameron will understand this comparison.
Joe Biden is a once great president who has truly lost his mind. He is proud of his Irish heritage yet he cannot see this historic crime unfolding in front of the world - a crime that will stain the USA forever. This is not a war. This is a rolling massacre. Relentless torture on a massive scale. Perpetrated by people who control Israel and will not stop. Not today. Not tomorrow.”

How can the IDF be building 3 km of roads in Northern Gaza while children starve?