The UN says there is “total famine” in northern Gaza. What does that mean?

TEL AVIV, Israel – The head of the United Nations World Food Program says northern Gaza has gone into “total famine” after nearly seven months of war between Israel and Hamas. But a formal and highly sensitive declaration of famine faces the complications of politics and confirming how many people have died.

Cindy McCain, in an interview broadcast on NBC on Sunday, said severe Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to the territory that has long depended on outside food assistance have pushed civilians in the most isolated and devastated part of Gaza to the breaking point. The famine was now moving south from Gaza, she said.

A WFP spokesperson later told the Associated Press that one of the three benchmarks for a formal declaration of famine has already been met in northern Gaza and another is almost met – important details about the extent of the effort to document the famine. mortal progressed.

Israel faces growing pressure from key allies, the United States and others, to allow more aid into Gaza, including by opening more land crossings for more efficient delivery by truck. Aid groups say air and sea deliveries by the United States and other countries are failing to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, a growing number of them reaching the stage of malnutrition in which children’s growth is stunted and deaths occur.

Famine was projected in parts of Gaza this month in a March report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global initiative that includes WFP as a partner. It stated that nearly a third of Gaza’s population was suffering the highest level of catastrophic famine, and that this number could rise to nearly half by July.

The next IPC report is expected in July. Israel vehemently rejects any allegation of famine in Gaza and its aid agency found McCain’s claim incorrect. A formal statement could be used as evidence at the International Criminal Court, as well as the International Court of Justice, where Israel faces genocide charges in a case brought by South Africa.

Here’s what we know about the famine and hunger crisis in Gaza.

According to the IPC, an area is considered to be in a famine situation when three situations occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food or are essentially hungry; at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they are too thin for their height; and two adults or four children for every 10,000 people die daily from hunger and its complications.

In northern Gaza, the first condition of extreme food shortages has been met, WFP spokesman Steve Taravella told the Associated Press. The second condition of acute child malnutrition is almost met, he said. But the death rate could not be verified.

Doing this is difficult. Aid groups note that Israeli airstrikes and incursions have devastated medical facilities in northern Gaza and displaced much of the population. Together with restrictions on access, they complicate the ability to formally collect data on deaths.

A document explaining the famine published in March by the IPC noted, however, that an area can be classified as “famine with reasonable evidence” if two of the three thresholds have been met and analysts believe, from the available evidence, that the third has probably been achieved.

“The end result is that people are practically dying due to lack of food, water and medicine. If we wait for the moment when all the facts are in hand to verify the final conditions to scientifically declare famine, it will be after thousands of people have died”, said Taravella.

Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Israel sealed its borders with Gaza and for weeks prevented aid from entering. Aid groups say assistance has since been restricted to far fewer than the 500 aid trucks that arrived before the war. Since March, as Israel has pointed out progress, an average of 171 trucks per day have entered Gaza, according to the US-created Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

Once inside Gaza, food and other aid do not always reach the most vulnerable. Aid groups say access is limited, especially in the north, due to ongoing fighting and a chaotic security situation.

North Gaza, including Gaza City, was the first target of Israel’s invasion and became the epicenter of the famine crisis, with many residents reduced to eating animal feed and foraging for weeds. The March IPC report said that around 210,000 people in the north were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

The very young, the very old and those with health problems are most affected. On Sunday, a 6-year-old child from northern Gaza with cystic fibrosis was flown to the United States on a humanitarian flight after his mother made a video asking for help. Fadi Al-Zant’s protruding ribs and thin arms showed advanced malnutrition.

Humanitarian groups say it will be difficult to deliver vital aid without a ceasefire. Even with a lull in the fighting, some experts say the situation in northern Gaza will have lasting consequences, especially for newborns and pregnant women.

Although Israel has allowed more aid in recent weeks under international pressure, a humanitarian official with the U.S. Agency for International Development told the AP that since March, northern Gaza has not received anything resembling the aid needed to stave off famine. USAID made the official available on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns about his conflict work.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Israel’s recent steps to increase deliveries, but stressed that such measures must be sustained. This is not easy. Israel on Sunday closed its main aid crossing point after a Hamas attack killed soldiers.

Some Palestinians say the increased aid has eased things slightly, especially by reducing the cost of food.

Gaza City resident Said Siam said prices have fallen in recent weeks. Still, the 18-year-old said he and his family members have lost at least 10 pounds each since the start of the war, eating mostly one meal of pumpkin soup a day. Fruits, vegetables and fresh meat are still scarce.

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Knickmeyer reported from Washington.

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