REACTION: Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) report confirming a famine in Gaza Governorate

Reacting to the Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) report published today confirming a famine in Gaza Governorate which is predicted to expand to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September, Helen Stawski, Oxfam Policy Lead said: 

“The famine in Gaza is entirely driven by Israel’s near-total blockade on food and vital aid, the horrifying consequence of Israel’s violence, and its use of starvation as a weapon of war. This is what our staff and partners have been witnessing for months – people in the Gaza Strip being deliberately starved, relentlessly bombarded and forcefully displaced.

“Despite warnings in July that famine was imminent, Israel has continued to deprive Palestinians of food, denying almost every request from long-established humanitarian agencies, preventing them from delivering vital food and aid that could have stemmed hunger, malnutrition and disease.

“Oxfam alone has more than $2.5m worth of life-saving aid, including high-calorie food packages – now sitting in warehouses outside Gaza. Israeli authorities have rejected it all, at a time when it is needed more than ever.

“The failure of the UK government to put any meaningful pressure on Israel, standing idly by as people – including babies – starve to death, is as bewildering as it is reprehensible. This has to stop – the UK must use every diplomatic, legal and economic tool; including demanding the full, unhindered access of aid at scale, halting all arms sales, working for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and unlawful Palestinian detainees.”

Notes to editor:

According to the UN (20 Aug), malnutrition has tripled across the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire collapsed. And in Gaza City, acute malnutrition has now reached 28.5 per cent, meaning more than one in four children in Gaza City is now considered malnourished.