Only 10 percent of Gaza’s food and medical needs find their way to the Strip through a very narrow window, following the closure of the Rafah crossing after Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the border on May 7.
Along with the ongoing military operations, Israel is waging a different kind of war against civilians, obstructing international Arab supplies of aid, and threatening more than a million people with death and famine by mid-July, according to international estimates.
“The war machine is the only side that benefits from the current situation, while the people of Gaza are starving due to Israeli restrictions on the entry of food aid,” Dr. Bashar Murad, Executive Director of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the Gaza Strip, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
His remarks were echoed by media advisor to UNRWA Adnan Abu Hasna, who called for “urgent solutions to stop the specter of famine in the Gaza Strip.”
He called for “an end to the war, for Israel to open crossings and humanitarian corridors, and increasing the volume of aid...”
The International Emergency Response Conference for Gaza, which was held in Jordan earlier this month, reviewed the catastrophic situation on the ground after eight months of war. It noted the destruction of 60 percent of buildings and at least 80 percent of commercial facilities in Gaza. Educational and health institutions have also been turned to rubble.
The conference highlighted “the displacement of more than 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, or 75 percent of the population, since the beginning of the war.”
In addition to food scarcity, the residents of Gaza are facing a severe shortage of potable water as sewage and seawater have seeped into the coastal enclave’s underground reservoir, Abu Hasna noted.
“The continuation of the current conditions... makes the situation in Gaza the worst in history, and an unbearable hell,” he underlined.
On June 12, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke about famine-like conditions facing a large segment of Gaza’s population, noting that 8,000 children under five “suffer from acute malnutrition.”
These estimates are consistent with warnings issued in early June, in a joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program, along with the UN Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, predicting that half of the population of the Gaza Strip “will face death and famine by mid-July.”
Bashar Murad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Signs of famine appeared in northern Gaza, and deaths were recorded there, as well as in the city of Deir al-Balah, due to the severe shortage of food aid.”
He also noted a government report, last Friday, that confirmed the death of 33 children due to famine, and the appearance of signs of malnutrition in 85,000 children.
“Despite the Arab and international airdrops of aid, quantities are insufficient, and the food shortage is increasing,” he said, adding: “Israel is using food as a weapon in violation of international law, and is exposing the residents of Gaza to famine by preventing the entry of aid.”
Regarding the obstacles facing supplies, Murad believes that the best solution is for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which he described as “the main artery of the Gaza Strip.”
