The Israeli genocide in Gaza has been ongoing for more than eight months and has intensified in Rafah, home to over a million internally displaced people. The actions and policies imposed by the Israeli occupation on the people of Gaza are causing untold suffering from severe food shortages, a continuous decline in nutrition levels, widespread malnutrition among children, and increased mortality rates due to diseases caused by hunger and malnutrition, along with the difficulty of accessing medical and healthcare services. The environmental pollution resulting from the destruction of sewage systems, the inability of municipalities to remove waste, the presence of thousands of bodies under the rubble, and the weak humanitarian response and provision of necessary aid to those in need, has worsened the situation and suffering of the people of Gaza.
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Gaza Strip Targeted Analysis, May 31, 2024 report all three Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) thresholds for Famine (food consumption, acute malnutrition, and mortality) were likely met or surpassed in northern Gaza in April. This situation will persist through at least in July if there is not a fundamental change in how food assistance is distributed and accessed after entering Gaza. While food aid and informal market supplies increased in March and April, it is unlikely that over 80 percent of the northern Gaza population averted catastrophic hunger. Amid severe hunger, disease, and inadequate nutrition treatment and prevention, it is possible that acute malnutrition and mortality levels were above the IPC thresholds in April. Many children have died from hunger-related causes and government decision makers should act urgently to mitigate loss of life.
The situation in southern Gaza is critical too because of the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Rafah which is seriously disrupting food distribution channels and worsening access to food, bringing the south into Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) between May and July. The report asserts that food and nutrition assistance have been key to preventing Famine (IPC Phase 5) in the south to date, and it is possible a sustained, large-scale disruption of assistance would lead to Famine in the period beyond July.
We, therefore, call on all organizations, movements, human rights defenders, and supporters to sign this petition to urge the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority to declare Gaza a famine-stricken area and take the necessary measures to protect its inhabitants.
