Much-needed emergency aid and sanitation assistance provides hope and dignity
The al-Saftawi neighborhood in Gaza got a glimmer of hope in an otherwise desperate situation when a truck loaded with food parcels and dignity kits, including sanitary products, safely arrived into a part of Gaza City, a community that has been systemically impacted by the ongoing war. The truck comes as a result of support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and together with one of our partners on the ground, Aisha, the neighborhood could feel relief from getting food that can quench starvation, if only for a short while.
The human-induced disaster has resulted in close to 96% - 2.15 million people - of the population in Gaza do not have enough food, according to the United Nations. Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise, as the UN already in April stated a high risk of famine and probable starvation were being experienced in key places across the Gaza Strip.
Hunger as a weapon
Starvation has not been officially declared in the Gaza Strip primarily due to the challenges the UN faces in gaining access and verifying on-the-ground reports. Israel's blockade and obstruction of emergency aid have prevented such a declaration, but this does not mean that starvation is not actively occurring at this time.
The UN analyzes and reports on the food security situation in all countries through the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which defines the degree of food insecurity in various phases for a country or region. When famine is declared, there are several criteria being unfortunately met, including that at least 30% of all children suffer from acute malnutrition, and that for every 10,000 people, there are two deaths per day as a direct consequence of hunger or malnutrition and the resulting diseases. In addition to the lack of emergency aid, over 50% of Gaza's agricultural land has also been destroyed or damaged due to the unrelenting air bombardment and artillery shelling over the course of the last nine months. Localized food production, which flourished in Gaza, has been completely destabilized, with local markets brought to a standstill.
Using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a violation of the Geneva Conventions: "Deliberately using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including deliberately obstructing relief supplies as set forth in the Geneva Conventions".
This is also at the heart of South Africa's accusation against Israel in ICJ under the Genocide Convention.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 8,000 children, suffer from acute malnutrition, and are at risk of starvation as they do not receive the required care and treatment.
At Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the largest in the Gaza Strip, 200 children have been documented and examined, with 50 requiring intensive care due to malnutrition. Reports from human rights institutions indicate that over 700,000 citizens are suffering from malnutrition and have been classified as at risk. One in three children under the age of two is experiencing acute malnutrition. These examples highlight the severity of the imminent humanitarian disaster threatening the Strip.
Through the Jordan Corridor to Gaza
The feedback from the neighborhood that participated in the safe distribution of food parcels and dignity kits with hygiene items for women and girls has been one of overflowing with gratitude; not only to be able to get a sense of a ray hope and dignity, but also to feel that they have not been forgotten.
I feel immense joy knowing that our collective efforts have given some families much-needed assistance. It is also important that we (NPA with our partner) can contribute to the support and mobilization of local and regional products via Jordan-based suppliers in this aid supply-chain who in turn can assist and distribute in areas inside Gaza where other international organizations are not able to reach at this time.
This is what Norwegian People's Aid's country director in Palestine, Kelly Flynn, says.
The war has destroyed most of Gaza's ability to produce its own food. The new crossing that allow aid into northern Gaza improved access to food supplies with marginal improvements in May. But in the south, the crisis has worsened after the Israeli military offensive into Rafah District closed the main access route for humanitarian aid from Egypt.
A joint statement by the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the EU's crisis coordinator, Janez Lenarčič, said that "The crisis in Gaza has reached a new breaking point... The delivery of meaningful humanitarian aid inside Gaza has become nearly impossible, and the very fabric of civil society is unraveling."
The work that both of our partners, REFORM with psychosocial support and AISHA's delivery of food parcels and dignity kits by way of urgent emergency assistance is vital to ensure that an entire population is not completely destabilized and destroyed beyond recognition.
Find out what our partner REFORM do for psychosocial support.
