Northern Gaza is experiencing a “full-blown famine” which is rapidly spreading across the strip after almost seven months of war, the World Food Program warned, as negotiators meet in Cairo in hopes of agreeing a ceasefire in the conflict raging in the territory.
The remarks have brought into sharp focus the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding.
“Whenever you have conflicts like this, and emotions rage high, and things happen in a war, famine happens,” the WFP’s Executive DIrector Cindy McCain told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in a clip released ahead of the interview airing on Sunday.
“What I can explain to you is – is that there is famine – full-blown famine – in the north, and it’s moving its way south.” While McCain’s remarks do not constitute an official declaration of famine, she said they were based on what WFP staff have seen on the ground.
“It’s horror,” she said of the situation in Gaza. “It’s so hard to look at and it’s so hard to hear.”
McCain said the WFP is asking for a ceasefire and “unfettered access” to Gaza as delivering aid to the territory has been extremely difficult.
Israel has faced increasing pressure in recent weeks to allow aid into Gaza after its military strikes killed seven staffers of World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity.
Human rights agencies have long warned of a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza under Israel’s military assault. More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza as of May 1, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Over the course of the war, more than 1.9 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, according to the UN, with many sheltering in cramped tent camps that cannot offer enough access to sanitation or food. The entire population of more than 2.2 million people is now at risk of famine, and at least 30 children have already died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza, according to the health ministry.
Concerns are also heightened over an anticipated Israeli military operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah, prompting renewed calls for a ceasefire.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Egypt on Saturday for discussions on a possible ceasefire and hostage deal, having said in advance it would approach the talks with a “positive spirit” and “determined to finalize the agreement to meet our people’s demands.”
Egyptian state affiliated Al-Qahera News cited a senior Egyptian official on Saturday, saying Egyptian mediators are approaching a “consensus formula on many points of disagreement.”
CNN