UNRWA: 40% OF GAZA’S POPULATION NOW AT RISK OF FAMINE AS THERE IS ‘SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH FOOD’

Thu 28 December 2023:

The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has said that 40% of Gaza’s population is now at risk of famine.

In a post on social media, the agency said: “Gaza is grappling with catastrophic hunger. 40% of the population are now at risk of famine. The reality is, we need more aid. The only remaining hope is a humanitarian ceasefire.”

It quoted Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, saying: “Every day is a struggle for survival, finding food and finding water.”

The agency said that “in southern Gaza, UNRWA continues distributing flour, reaching 145,724 families so far. Hot meals are provided in UNRWA school-turned shelters, but the average number of people in these shelters is more than 12,000 … four times over capacity. There is simply not enough food.”

Eylon Levy, the Israeli government spokesperson, has accused the UN of a failure to provide aid to civilians in Gaza. He claimed that Hamas hijacks aid and that the “UNRWA covers up for it”, and blamed the UN’s logistics for the closure of the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing this week.

Since the 7 October surprise Hamas attack inside southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, Israel has put Gaza under an almost complete siege, insisting that any aid entering the territory is inspected by Israel, and at times cutting off utilities and communications inside Gaza. More than 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced following Israeli military orders for civilians to evacuate to the south of the territory.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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