A UN-backed panel of experts has warned that famine in the northern Gaza Strip is imminent just days before a deadline set by the US government for Israel to increase the volume of humanitarian supplies to the enclave expires, the "New York Times" reported, BTA writes.
"All parties directly involved in the conflict must take immediate action – "within days, not weeks, to prevent and alleviate this catastrophic situation," the Famine Review Committee, which includes UN agencies, national governments and humanitarian organizations, said in a report published on Friday.
US demands
In the middle of last month, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to their Israeli counterparts demanding a significant increase in humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press recalls. Otherwise, "there could be consequences for US policy," including for the military support on which Israel is heavily dependent, the newspaper added. "New York Times".
A similar letter from Blinken to Israeli officials in April led to more humanitarian aid being delivered to the Palestinian territories, but it didn't last long, the AP notes.
For Israel to continue receiving foreign military funding, the level of aid reaching the Gaza Strip must increase to at least 350 truckloads per day. Israel must also implement additional humanitarian pauses and provide greater security for humanitarian sites, the letter from Austin and Blinken says. The text specifies that Israel has 30 days to comply, the AP also writes.
Key Findings of the Hunger Review Commission
On October 6, 2024 Israel has declared the entire northern Gaza Strip a combat zone and ordered all civilians to evacuate, the Famine Review Commission said in a report published on Friday. On October 7, 2024, a UN spokesman said that many people in northern Gaza were "trapped" in their homes and unable to leave the fighting zone. Doctors Without Borders said its staff remained stranded in Jabaliya. "No one is allowed to enter or leave; anyone who tries is shot," the Famine Review Commission said in a statement. However, since early October 2024, have issued repeated evacuation orders for residents of the northern Gaza Strip, the Hunger Monitoring Commission also wrote.
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a sharp decline in food supplies throughout the Palestinian territory. A report by the World Food Program (the UN agency for combating hunger) indicates that in the second half of October, an average of only 58 per day entered the Gaza Strip. This is the lowest level of humanitarian supplies in the Palestinian territory since November 2023, the report also says.
Data released by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (an agency of the Israeli Ministry of Defense) also confirms that humanitarian and "commercial" supplies are at their lowest level since the start of the war, the Hunger Review Commission said.
"The Hunger Review Commission is particularly concerned about the availability of food in areas of high-intensity conflict", the report said.
"In recent weeks… attacks on health and food facilities, as well as other civilian infrastructure, have intensified." The situation is being exacerbated "by the arrests of medical personnel by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)," the Hunger Review Commission added. "The destruction of civilian infrastructure continues, and the situation with water, sanitation and hygiene is critical."
The commission also draws attention to the decision of the Israeli parliament next year to ban the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Israeli territory.
"There is a broad consensus that UNRWA remains the main pillar of the humanitarian response to the situation in Gaza, and there is no organization that has the capacity to replace or replace UNRWA. Taking further action to implement these laws would have extremely serious consequences for humanitarian operations. Regardless of the way in which the parliamentary acts in question are implemented, the crisis is already escalating," the commission warns.
Reactions to the report
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories said on Saturday, quoted by the "Washington Post", that the position of the Famine Review Commission was "incorrect and does not correspond to the situation on the ground" and stressed that residents had been warned to evacuate south before the start of "intensive military operations [...] in northern Gaza".
The Israeli army said it had increased its relief efforts and that it opened an additional crossing on Friday, the "Jerusalem Post" wrote.
"Officials reported that 713 aid trucks had entered northern Gaza through the western Eretz crossing since the beginning of October," the Israeli publication also wrote. This amounts to an average of only 18 trucks per day, according to the American television network NBC.
On Saturday, the IDF said that two days earlier it had delivered 11 trucks of humanitarian aid to Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. These are the first humanitarian supplies to reach the innermost part of Gaza since Israel resumed its military operations in the area a month ago, the "Jerusalem Post" also writes.
What actions are expected from Washington
Last week, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was quoted by NBC as saying that the results of Israel's efforts so far to meet US demands for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza "have not been good enough" and that the recommendations "have not been implemented".
The deadline that the Joe Biden administration gave Israel in its letter last month expires on November 12. "The letter was not intended as a threat", said White House national security adviser John Kirby a few days after it was sent. "The letter was simply intended to reaffirm the sense of urgency that we feel and the seriousness with which we feel about the need to increase, dramatically increase humanitarian assistance", he explained, quoted by the AP.
However, Biden lost the presidential election and it is unclear whether there will be continuity in policy towards Israel after Donald Trump takes office, NBC commented. While Biden's policies and arms regulations have consistently supported Israel, his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been strained at times, including over the White House's efforts to constrain Israel or push it to abide by international law. Trump, on the other hand, has strongly supported "Israel's right to win its war on terror," and Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have greeted his election with enthusiasm, the American television station also commented. Netanyahu was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump by phone. Trump's victory was greeted with celebrations in Israel and heightened fears among some observers of further escalation amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, NBC concluded.