Gaza Sees Record Hunger as West Bank Evictions Rise

Gazans clamour for food at a distribution point.

The United Nations continues to draw attention to the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where starvation and malnutrition have reached their highest levels since hostilities began nearly three years ago.

That warning comes from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in a statement posted on Tuesday, calling for more aid to be allowed into the enclave by Israeli authorities.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that five people died over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update.

This brings the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 227, including 103 children, since October 2023.

Humanitarians continue to decry the low level of supplies entering Gaza, which remains far below what is needed to meet the immense needs of the roughly 2.1 million residents.

One-third of the population is going without food for days, and half a million are on the brink of starvation, WFP emphasised.

The agency is calling for at least 100 trucks a day to be allowed into Gaza, faster approvals and clearances, and for no armed presence or shooting near humanitarian convoys and food distribution sites, among other measures.

Although the UN and partners are doing everything possible to bring assistance in, humanitarian movements still face significant delays and other challenges.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric outlined the situation for journalists at the regular media briefing in New York. He said that on Monday, humanitarians had formally asked Israel to coordinate 16 missions – including the collection of food, medical supplies and fuel – from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim border crossings, the only two aid corridors in operation.

Other missions involved moving goods and personnel within Gaza, from south to north and within the southern part of the Strip.

“Out of the 16 missions, four were facilitated and three were denied; another four were impeded but eventually accomplished,” he said.

Of the remaining missions, two were cancelled by the respective organisations, and two more involving the collection of food and health supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing were impeded and could not be completed. Another mission was impeded but was still ongoing.

“Efforts to coordinate humanitarian movements often drag on for hours due to unpredictable clearances by the Israeli authorities, wasting precious time,” he added.

OCHA also reported on the situation in the occupied West Bank, where another Palestinian Bedouin community was displaced on Monday due to violence by Israeli forces and settlers.

Israeli forces raided the community of Ein Ayoub in Ramallah governorate and ordered the immediate eviction of its roughly 100 Palestinian residents.

Many of these people have no alternative means of shelter, OCHA said.