Famine is possibly underway in northern Gaza despite recent aid efforts, a new report warns
A new report by an independent group of experts says it's possible that famine is underway in northern Gaza, but that the war between Israel and Hamas and restrictions on humanitarian access have impeded data collection to prove it
JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) — An independent group of experts warned Tuesday that it's possible that famine is underway in northern Gaza but that the war between Israel and Hamas and restrictions on humanitarian access have impeded the data collection to prove it.
"It is possible, if not likely,” the group known as the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, or FEWS NET, said about famine in Gaza.
fConcerns about deadly hunger have been high in recent months and spiked after the head of the World Food Program last month said northern Gaza had entered “full-blown famine” after nearly seven months of war. Experts at the U.N. agency later said Cindy McCain was expressing a personal opinion.
An area is considered to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving; at least 30% of the children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they’re too thin for their height; and two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications.
