New York, Jun 01 (V7N) – The United Nations has declared the Gaza Strip the “hungriest place on earth”, warning of a looming famine threatening the entire population due to Israel's ongoing military campaign and blockade. The alarming assessment was reported by Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera on Sunday.
According to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 95% of Gaza’s population is experiencing acute food insecurity, with over 500,000 people teetering on the edge of famine.
UNICEF has also issued a dire alert, reporting that more than 10,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition and require urgent life-saving assistance.
Access to essential supplies remains critically limited. The Israeli blockade, combined with massive damage to infrastructure, has made the delivery of food, clean water, and medicine nearly impossible.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the humanitarian conditions as “unimaginable”. In a statement, he called for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid.
“The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is unimaginable. We need an immediate ceasefire and approval for aid deliveries,” Guterres said.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which escalated in late 2023, has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza and displaced at least 1.8 million, according to UN estimates. Many international observers have described the situation as “the ultimate example of a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Experts warn that without coordinated and urgent international intervention, a full-scale famine in Gaza is unavoidable.
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