Six months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the population of Gaza is facing a food crisis which, according to the United Nations, borders on famine.
The crisis in Gaza is entirely man-made, the result of Israel’s war against Hamas and the territory’s near-complete siege, humanitarian experts say. Conflict was also the cause of the two other disasters in the past two decades classified by a world authority as famines, in Sudan and Somalia, although in those countries drought was also a significant underlying factor.
Here’s a look at how Gaza reached this point.
Food shortages in Gaza are the result of the blockade and Israeli military operations.
For years before the last war, Gaza was subject to Israeli blockade, supported by Egypt. Under the blockade, humanitarian aid, including food and commercial imports, was strictly limited. Despite this, malnutrition levels among Gaza’s approximately 2.2 million residents were low and comparable to countries in the region.
After October 7, when Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel that incited war, Israel imposed a siege and instituted much stricter controls on what could enter Gaza, preventing the entry of anything that , according to him, could potentially benefit Hamas. At the same time, Israel blocked commercial imports of food products that filled Gaza’s stores and markets.
This too bombed the port of Gaza, restricted fishing and bombed many farms in the territory. Airstrikes and fighting have destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure and forced almost its entire population to flee their homes. This displacement, coupled with the destruction of businesses and soaring prices, has made it difficult for families to feed themselves.
“The food production system has been completely wiped out and the lack of emergency aid in a short period of time has created a free fall,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office.
Famine has a precise definition for the United Nations and humanitarian groups.
This week, Samantha Power, director of the United States Agency for International Development, said a famine was underway in northern Gaza, the part of the territory most cut off from aid. His agency later said that assessment was based on data collected in March, not new information, but that “conditions remain dire.”
These data were published by the Integrated food safety phase classification, an initiative of United Nations bodies and major relief agencies, also known as IPC. The IPC has not declared a famine in Gaza but said last month that we were imminent in the north. The agency declares a famine when at least 20 percent of households face an extreme lack of food; when at least 30 percent of children suffer from acute malnutrition; and when at least two adults or four children per 10,000 people die every day from hunger or diseases linked to malnutrition.
Since 2004, when the system was put in place, there have been two famines, according to this definition. In 2011, the IPC declared famine in parts of Somalia, which had endured decades of conflict. Years of drought have destroyed the agricultural sector and the economy, forcing many people to leave their homes in search of food. At the same time, a group of Islamist insurgents blocked hungry people to flee and chased away Western humanitarian organizations. In total, around 250,000 people died.
Six years later, a famine was declared in parts of South Sudan. The country suffered from drought for years, but the UN said the famine was man-made. Millions of people have fled because of a civil war that has destroyed the country’s economy, and rebel forces and government soldiers have blocked aid and hijacked food trucks. Tens of thousands of people died.
Gaza is small and mostly urban, so food needs to be close at hand.
Gaza is only 40 kilometers long and largely urban, and there is no shortage of food across its borders with Israel and Egypt.
Yet humanitarian agencies have struggled to do their work. Six months of war have been marked by the killing of numerous aid workers, including seven from World Central Kitchen, the humanitarian organization founded by chef José Andrés. These employees were killed by an Israeli drone strike on April 1 after delivering tons of food to a warehouse.
There is deep disagreement in Gaza between the UN and the Israeli government over how much aid enters Gaza each day, but aid organizations say they need better access, particularly in northern Gaza . Israeli authorities have repeatedly refused permission for humanitarian convoys to travel inside Gaza, they say.
Arif Husain, chief economist of the World Food Program, said what made the situation in Gaza so shocking was the scale and severity of the crisis and the speed with which it had developed.
Israel says it has not imposed any limits on aid. Critics disagree.
Critics of Israel’s way of waging the war say the hunger crisis stems largely from Israel’s restrictions on where trucks can enter and an onerous inspection process. Some have accused Israel of slowing down aid in order to punish Gazans for the October 7 attack.
Israeli officials say they have not placed any limits on the amount of aid that can flow to Gaza. They accuse the UN, and particularly UNRWA, the main agency helping the Palestinians, of failing to distribute aid effectively.
COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid deliveries to Gaza, says it has “increased” its deliveries in recent days and is opening an additional entry point into northern Gaza. More broadly, the Israeli government holds Hamas responsible for all civilian suffering in Gaza. (UNRWA said last month that Israel had denied the group access to northern Gaza, although Israel refuted this claim.)
Governments around the world have urged Israel to quickly resolve the crisis. President Biden warned last week that the United States could suspend its support for Israel if it does not do so. ensure adequate provision of aid and protect civilians. On Wednesday, Mr. Biden said that the steps taken by Israel since then were “not enough.”
Adam Selle reports contributed.
