Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Programme, has spoken out about the severity of the starvation crisis in Gaza. According to McCain, a “full-blown famine” is present in the northern part of Gaza and is spreading south. The situation has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, destruction, and suffering inflicted on Gaza by Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been accused of using starvation as a weapon of war by restricting humanitarian aid shipments and creating long waits at checkpoints. This has led to severe food shortages and reports of people resorting to eating grass and animal feed. The crisis has also led to an extensive waiting period for body retrievals due to the damage caused by IDF bombing campaigns that destroyed agricultural lands, critical infrastructure, and housing.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that it may take up to three years to retrieve bodies due to the damage caused by IDF bombings. The suffering in Gaza continues to escalate despite international organizations tiptoeing around using the word ‘famine’ to describe the crisis. It is urgent that a resolution be found to end this conflict before it leads to any further harm or loss of life.
McCain’s comments come after months of international organizations trying their best not to use the term ‘famine’ when describing what was happening in Gaza. However, she believes that with what WFP employees have witnessed in the area, it cannot be ignored anymore.
Israeli officials have denied these accusations and claimed that they are merely a result of misinformation being spread about their actions in Gaza. However, many believe that Israel is intentionally trying to create a humanitarian crisis by restricting aid shipments and creating long waits at checkpoints.
As such, there is a growing sense among humanitarian organizations that Israel needs to take action immediately if it wants to prevent a full-blown famine from taking place in Gaza. They are calling on Israelis who support peace negotiations with Palestine to put pressure on their government leaders