Famine has spread throughout Gaza, say UN experts

CNN — The recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition in the Gaza Strip indicates that famine has spread across the entire enclave, according to a United Nations statement, citing independent experts.

An estimated 495,000 people in Gaza – or 22% of the population – are “experiencing an extreme lack of food,” according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report last month.

Under the IPC system – a five-phase scale used as a common standard for classifying the severity of food insecurity – a famine can only be declared if data shows certain thresholds are met.

In the UN statement, published Tuesday, the group of experts said: “Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.

“We call upon the international community to prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire,” they continued.