Palestinians line up for food donations in Rafah on Nov. 30. Conditions have worsened since. The U.N. secretary-general warned Thursday that the humanitarian support system in Gaza was at high risk of collapse: “We anticipate it will result in a complete breakdown of public order.”
Mohammed Abed
Representatives for several international humanitarian groups are struggling to describe the new lows after having spent much of the past two months of war ringing alarm bells about conditions on the ground in Gaza.
“Those who survived the bombardment now face imminent risk of dying of starvation and disease,” Alexandra Saieh of Save the Children said during a press briefing on Thursday.
“The lack of water and hygiene is aggravating the diseases: diarrhea, vomiting, skin allergy, lice in the children’s hair,” said Chiara Saccardi, regional head of Action Against Hunger.
During last month’s temporary pause in fighting, the World Food Programme conducted a rapid food assessment, which it released on Wednesday, concluding that the situation in Gaza was “alarming.”
In a statement issued after a visit to Gaza on Friday, WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said, “Gazans are simply not eating.”
He described “confusion at warehouses, distribution points with thousands of desperate hungry people, supermarkets with bare shelves, and overcrowded shelters with bursting bathrooms. The dull thud of bombs was the soundtrack for our day.”
Eighty-three percent of households in southern Gaza have inadequate food consumption, according to the report, with 38% suffering from “severe levels of hunger.”
In a press call with international journalists on Thursday, Oxfam’s Khalidi and others described the conditions in Gaza as “not survivable.”
“Oxfam categorically views these actions, including the use of starvation as a war weapon, massive civilian killings and collective punishment, as war crimes,” she said, referring to the Israeli-imposed siege that has cut off food, water, electricity and fuel since the war began.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the humanitarian support system in Gaza was at high risk of collapse: “We anticipate it will result in a complete breakdown of public order.”
In response, the Israeli military office that works in conjunction with the Palestinian territories said they are abiding by international law as they conduct their operations in Gaza. As it has done for weeks, Israel has blamed the humanitarian aid crisis on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the refugee wing dedicated to Palestinians. UNRWA has previously pushed back on that allegation.
