Israel says it will take control of Gaza City, escalating war with Hamas
The Israeli announcement comes while the 2 million residents of Gaza are on the verge of famine, images of emaciated children drawing international indignation after them in the media around the world.
Finding food has become more difficult and fatal for Palestinians from an American organization and supported by Americans, the Gaza Humaninian Foundation, the aid distribution process resumed at the end of May. Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in recent weeks when they were trying to obtain limited humanitarian aid, including 20 which were killed yesterday, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said yesterday that “nutritional partners report that acute malnutrition in children in Gaza has reached the highest levels recorded to date.”
Nearly 12,000 children aged 6 months to almost 5 years were identified as having acute malnutrritity and more than 2,500 suffered from the most deadly form, he said.
Last week, the integrated classification of the food security phase (IPC) declared in an alert that “the worst of famine is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip”.
The IPC reported that two of the three famine thresholds had been reached – fell from food consumption and acute malnutrition – had been reached in Gaza.
“Famine has not been declared the third criterion, malnutrition deaths cannot be demonstrated,” said the UN.
The World Food Program said last week that the latest figures confirmed that Gaza “faces the serious risk of famine”.
“It is not a future risk – it is a current disaster,” said WFP.
