The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has declared that residents in northern Gaza are “on the verge of famine.”
In a statement on its X platform account, UNRWA highlighted the continued intensive attacks by the Israeli occupation forces on the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
It also mentioned thousands of Gaza residents fleeing from the northern areas towards the city of Rafah in the southern part of the Strip, home to 1.4 million people.
UNRWA warned that residents in the northern areas of Gaza are on the brink of famine, with no safe place to turn.
The warning from UNRWA about famine in northern Gaza is an urgent call that requires immediate international attention. This situation reflects a severe humanitarian crisis that transcends political borders and necessitates sustainable humanitarian intervention to ensure the fundamental right to food, internationally recognised as a human right. According to international human rights standards, the right to adequate food is essential for achieving a decent standard of living and ensuring the rights to life and health.
This crisis serves as a reminder that the humanitarian impact of conflicts requires international efforts to protect and support the most vulnerable populations. Human rights, including the right to food, must remain at the core of any crisis response.
Since October 7th, the Israeli occupation forces have waged a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, massive humanitarian conditions, and a major health and environmental catastrophe due to the destruction of vital facilities and widespread sewage overflows.
At the start of the war, the Israeli occupation cut off all electricity, water, fuel, and food supplies to the entire Gaza Strip, bombarded bakeries, factories, stores, water stations, and reservoirs, and destroyed infrastructure.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, endangering the lives and property of civilians and causing them immense suffering. This situation necessitates urgent and resolute intervention from the international community to halt the aggression and protect civilians in the region.
