New York, SANA- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Sunday that nearly half a million people in Gaza are on the brink of famine, while the rest of the population is experiencing “emergency” levels of food insecurity under Israel’s blockade and ongoing aggression on the Strip.
In a statement, the WFP said “prolonged conflict, the collapse of essential services, and severe restrictions on aid delivery have created catastrophic humanitarian conditions across Gaza.”
According to the agency, more than 320,000 children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition, with thousands already suffering from severe acute malnutrition — the most life-threatening form of undernutrition.
The WFP noted that one in three residents is going days without food as basic nutrition services collapse. Infants, it said, face a severe shortage of clean water, breast milk substitutes, and therapeutic feeding supplies.
“The limited food brought into Gaza so far covers only a fraction of what is needed for the survival of more than two million people,” the agency added, urging the international community to guarantee the immediate and safe delivery of aid and to press for a cease-fire.
The warning comes as Gaza enters its eleventh month under a crippling Israeli siege following a large-scale military offensive. Border restrictions and widespread destruction of infrastructure have brought humanitarian and medical services to a near halt, prompting aid groups to sound the alarm over an unprecedented crisis in the enclave.
Nawal/ Manar
