NEW YORK, Aug 22 (Bernama-WAFA) -- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations (UN)-backed initiative, said the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in the Gaza Strip as hunger and malnutrition reach critical levels.
“Conflict and displacement have intensified, and access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels,” the IPC said in a statement, the Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) reported.
It added that “mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths.”
The IPC said famine thresholds have been breached for food consumption in most of Gaza and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.
It noted that malnutrition rose rapidly in July, with over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, including more than 3,000 severely malnourished.
Hospitals also reported at least 16 hunger-related deaths of children under five since July 17.
On similar note, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that severely malnourished children in Gaza will be “certainly condemned to death” unless aid reaches them urgently.
He said hunger levels are particularly severe in the north, where Gaza City is located, and where an estimated one million people remain.
Lazzarini noted that an evaluation on how famine has evolved in the territory is expected to be released soon.
He added that UNRWA health centres have recorded a sixfold rise in cases of severely malnourished children since March.
“If no measures are taken immediately, they are certainly condemned to death,” he stressed, adding that hunger is already causing deaths in Gaza and “there will be more, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering,” the IPC added.
-- BERNAMA-WAFA
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