Forty percent of Gaza’s population are at risk of famine, UN says

Ramallah (Quds News Network) – The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned today that not enough aid is being allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip, leaving 40 percent of its population “at risk of famine” amid Israeli curbs on entry of desperately needed aid trucks to enter the enclave.
The UNRWA renewed its warning that the besieged enclave is grappling with “catastrophic hunger”, as it reiterated calls for a humanitarian ceasefire amid non-stop Israeli airstrikes across the enclave for over 83 days.
“Every day is a struggle for survival, finding food and finding water,” Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Palestinians gathering in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Deir Al-Balah as a result of the starvation war waged by the occupation on the Gaza Strip, amid appeals to Egypt to open the Rafah crossing and bring in food and basic supplies. pic.twitter.com/fgdobYk7Jz
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 7, 2023
“The reality is, we need more aid. The only remaining hope is a humanitarian ceasefire,” the agency said on X.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on more aid for Gaza after days of delays, but aid groups and rights advocates described the resolution as “woefully insufficient” and “nearly meaningless”.
The latest stark warning by the UN agency on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza came as invading Israeli troops continued to heavily bombard the territory, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Air and artillery attacks and house-to-house raids have become heaviest in the southern city of Khan Younis. Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza, reported more than 200 deaths “including entire families” over the past 24 hours in attacks across the territory.
More than 80 percent’s of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been driven from their homes, the UN says, and many now live in cramped shelters or makeshift tents in the far south, in and around the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border.
As Israel continues to ban humanitarian aid into Gaza, over 2 million Palestinians have been facing starvation.
This girl is hoping to find some leftovers. pic.twitter.com/Q6gQXu8wKm
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 22, 2023