World Food Program: impending famine in the Gaza Strip
Published: Tuesday, Jan 23rd 2024, 14:50
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According to a spokeswoman for the UN World Food Program (WFP), the people in the Gaza Strip are facing famine. There is enough food available at the borders to feed the entire population - more than two million people - for a month, said Abeer Etefa on Tuesday.
However, due to the ongoing fighting and attacks, it is not possible to distribute the material within the contested coastal strip. Especially in the north, it is practically impossible to reach the people. Etefa spoke to reporters in Geneva via video link from Cairo.
The WFP had already warned before Christmas that more than a quarter of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip - 577,000 people - were in the worst emergency situation. The WFP has a multi-level system according to which it assesses how many people are affected by hunger and to what extent.
At the time, the 577,000 were already in the highest category 5, which is described as "famine-like conditions". The survey was carried out during the ceasefire at the end of November. Since then, the situation has worsened, said Etefa. A new investigation has not yet been possible.
Etefa said that the situation in the Gaza Strip was unprecedented worldwide. Never before had so many people anywhere in the world been so threatened by hunger in such a short space of time.
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