/s3/static.nrc.nl/images/gn4/stripped/data136755921-b1d3b7.jpg|https://images.nrc.nl/1JIToKQebJFEAAAh3No5ujufH5Y=/1920x/filters:no_upscale()/s3/static.nrc.nl/images/gn4/stripped/data136755921-b1d3b7.jpg|https://images.nrc.nl/U8bHeUqeAVKClXGChZHkpq7zhug=/5760x/filters:no_upscale()/s3/static.nrc.nl/images/gn4/stripped/data136755921-b1d3b7.jpg)
Gaza Faces imminent Famine Despite Reports of Functioning restaurants, Experts Warn
Gaza City – Despite claims from Israeli officials and circulating reports of functioning restaurants, a severe famine is unfolding in Gaza City, according to a recent assessment by teh IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), a UN-backed association. The IPC resolute last month that at least one in five people in Gaza are experiencing extreme food shortages, meeting the stringent criteria for a famine declaration.
The IPC’s assessment hinges on specific benchmarks: at least 20% of the population suffering extreme food insecurity, a defined percentage of children exhibiting acute malnutrition, and a daily death rate of two per 10,000 inhabitants attributable to hunger, malnutrition, or disease.
The Israeli government has disputed the IPC’s findings, alleging the organization lowered the threshold for determining acute malnutrition in children, from 30% to 15%. However, experts explain the IPC adapted its methodology due to overwhelming strain on Gaza’s medical infrastructure. Rather of traditional weight and length measurements, wich are time-consuming, the circumference of a child’s upper arm - a quicker and easier assessment – was used, requiring a lower threshold to indicate famine conditions.
Israel has launched a public relations campaign to counter the famine narrative, highlighting reports of restaurants remaining open and alleging that images depicting starving children are staged. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disseminated videos in multiple languages, including English, German, and Italian, promoting this viewpoint.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly questioned the condition of a severely malnourished child featured in The New York Times,claiming the child suffered from an underlying illness rather than hunger.He extended similar accusations to other widely circulated images of starving Gazans, labeling them as fabricated.
Alex de Waal, a leading expert on famine, strongly refuted these claims. “whatever the circumstances in which this child was in advance,it would not look like it was not starving,” he stated. De Waal emphasized that famines disproportionately impact the most vulnerable. “A famine starts with eradicating the poorest and the weakest. It is indeed thus to be expected that children with existing disorders are the first to succumb to it.”
De Waal criticized Netanyahu’s response as deeply inappropriate and inaccurate. “If you knew that these sick and weak children were there, why did you let them starve? I think Netanyahu’s attack on those photos is very tasteless, embarrassing actually, simply wrong.”
The situation underscores a complex reality: while some commercial activity may continue in Gaza, it does not negate the widespread and escalating food crisis impacting a significant portion of the population. The IPC’s assessment paints a grim picture of a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding,demanding urgent and sustained international attention.
