Gaza Strip could reach famine in six weeks, WFP says
STORY: "We are getting closer by the day to a famine situation," said Gian Carlo Cirri, Geneva director of the WFP.
A U.N.-backed report published in March said that famine was imminent and likely to occur by May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July. On Tuesday, a U.S. official said the risk of famine in Gaza, especially in the north, was very high.
Cirri was speaking at the launch of a report by the Global Network Against Food Crises, an alliance of humanitarian and development actors including United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the European Union and the United States.
In its report, the network described the 2024 outlook for the Middle East and Africa as extremely concerning due to the Gaza war and restricted humanitarian access, as well as the risk of the conflict spreading elsewhere in the region.
The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza in the six months since Israel began an aerial and ground offensive against Gaza's ruling Islamist militant group Hamas.
Israel has denied hindering supplies of humanitarian aid and blames aid agencies for inefficiencies in distribution.
