Northern Gaza is in ‘full-blown famine,’ World Food Program leader says
Northern Gaza is in ‘full-blown famine,’ World Food Program leader says
Northern Gaza is in a “full-blown famine” that is “moving its way south,” according to the executive director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain.
There has not yet been an official declaration of famine in the enclave, where hunger and disease are rampant after nearly seven months of fighting, but McCain said in an interview with NBC News set to air Sunday that her remarks are based on what her organization has seen and experienced on the ground.
“It’s horror. It’s so hard to look at and it’s so hard to hear,” she said. “I’m so hoping that we can get a cease-fire and begin to feed these people — especially in the north — in a much faster fashion.”
McCain’s assertion follows months of warnings from humanitarian groups that Israel’s war in Gaza has pushed the enclave to the brink of famine. A Washington Post analysis also shows how the Israeli offensive is destroying Gaza’s ability to grow its own food.
Israel has been criticized for restricting aid to the enclave, and while efforts including opening new routes into Gaza have increased the flow, WFP said this week that “rolling back six months of starvation requires steady flows of food supplies” and “safe, lasting access.”
Famine is officially defined as when at least 20 percent of households in a particular area are suffering from an extreme lack of food, at least 30 percent of children have acute malnutrition and 2 in every 10,000 people are dying per day because of outright starvation or disease.
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A Hamas delegation will travel to Egypt on Saturday to continue cease-fire talks, the group said in a statement on Telegram. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a trip to the Middle East this week, urged Hamas to accept Israel’s latest proposal, with other U.S. officials warning that it could be the “last chance” to avoid more fighting. The group’s political chief said this week that the negotiations were moving forward with a “positive spirit.”
The United States told Qatar to evict Hamas if it continues to reject a cease-fire with Israel, in a message that Blinken delivered to the Qatari prime minister in April, The Post reported. Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political leadership at the United States’ request since 2012. Qatari officials have advised Hamas officials that they should devise a backup plan for residency should they need to leave, according to a diplomat familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations.
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested that outside attempts to influence the court’s activities “cease immediately,” after reports that the court is considering arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparked fury among Israeli officials and their supporters. The court has not confirmed the reports.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in the past two weeks in connection with U.S. campus protests denouncing the war in Gaza, as the movement spread to more than 150 colleges across the country, according to data tracked by The Post. Some campuses in the United States saw calm Friday night, following a week of police crackdowns and after some schools struck deals with students to end protests. Similar protests have also taken place in Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
At least 34,622 people have been killed and 77,867 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 263 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.