GENEVA: The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has drawn stark parallels between the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and some of the worst famines of the 20th century, including those in Ethiopia and Biafra.
“This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,“ said WFP emergency director Ross Smith during a press briefing in Geneva. “It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century.”
His remarks follow a dire warning from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), which stated that “the worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip.” The IPC, a UN-backed monitoring group, stressed that only “immediate, unimpeded” humanitarian access can halt the escalating crisis of “starvation and death.”
“Disaster is unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens,“ Smith added. “This is not a warning: this is a call to action.”
Israel enforced a full blockade on Gaza in early March after ceasefire negotiations collapsed. Although limited aid resumed in late May, the IPC reports that “famine thresholds” have now been met across much of the territory.
Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s food security and nutrition analysis director, emphasised that “what we’re seeing is mounting evidence that a famine is there. All the signals are there now.” - AFP
