UN says no more famine in Gaza as severe storm hinders humanitarian efforts

UN says no more famine in Gaza as severe storm hinders humanitarian efforts
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A famine declared in Gaza in August is now over thanks to enhanced access for humanitarian aid, the United Nations said on Friday, but warned the food situation in the Palestinian territory remained dire, Arab News reported.

More than 70 percent of the population is living in makeshift shelters, it said, with hunger exacerbated by winter floods and an increasing risk of hypothermia as temperatures plummet.

Although a ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid, delivery fluctuates daily and is limited and uneven across the territory, it said.

It added that around 1.6 million people are still forecast to face “crisis” levels of food insecurity in the period running to April 15.

According to Oxfam, despite the end of the famine, the levels of hunger in Gaza remain “appalling and preventable,” and accused Israel of blocking aid requests from dozens of well-established humanitarian agencies.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is severely limited, it said, with open defecation and overcrowded living conditions increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Over 96 percent of cropland in the Gaza Strip is either damaged, inaccessible, or both, it said, while livestock has been decimated.

Meanwhile, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that Storm Byron has further aggravated the already dire living conditions for thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, many of whom are sheltering in tents or damaged buildings, Muslim Mirror reported.

UNRWA said on US social media company X on Tuesday that the storm has intensified risks for families who have been forced from their homes, as severe weather hits overcrowded and unsafe shelters.

The Gaza Strip, the statement said, needs around 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units to meet the most basic shelter needs of Palestinians after the destruction of the enclave’s infrastructure in two years of Israeli attacks.

UN Secretary General has also urged the world “not lose sight of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the West Bank,” where Palestinians “face escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions.”

Israeli Prime Minister is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. This week, the appeals chamber of the ICC rejected Israel’s legal challenge seeking to block an investigation into its actions in the genocidal war in the Palestinian territory.