United Nations warns all of Gaza Strip at risk of famine
The UN warned Friday that the entire population of Gaza was at risk of famine, as an Israeli far-right minister urged the use of “full force” against Hamas.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March following a short-lived truce.
Israel recently intensified its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas, drawing global condemnation over the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Recent AFPTV footage has shown chaotic scenes as large crowds of Palestinians desperate for food rushed to a limited number of aid distribution centres to pick up supplies.
“Gaza is the hungriest place on earth,” Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said on Friday.
“It’s the only defined area — a country or defined territory within a country — where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred percent of the population at risk of famine.”
– Limited aid –
Laerke said 900 UN aid trucks had been authorised by Israel to enter so far, but only 600 had been offloaded on the Gaza side of the border, and an even smaller number had been picked up there due to security considerations.
Laerke described the “limited number of truckloads” as “drip-feeding food”.
Adding to the international pressure, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that European countries should “harden the collective position” against Israel if it did not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Action was needed “in the next few hours and days”, he added.
Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP that at least 22 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on Friday, including seven in a strike targeting a family home in Jabalia in the north.
Palestinians sobbed over the bodies of their loved ones at Gaza City’s Al Shifa Hospital following the strike, AFPTV footage showed.
“These were civilians and were sleeping at their homes. The house was destroyed due to the indiscriminate bombardment,” said neighbour Mahmud al-Ghaf, describing “children in pieces”.
“Stop the war!” said Mahmud Nasr, who lost relatives. “We do not want anything from you, just stop the war.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Jabalia strike, but said separately that the air force had “struck dozens of targets throughout the Gaza Strip” over the past day.
– Truce proposal –
The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump and US envoy Steve Witkoff had “submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed”.
Israel has not confirmed that it approved the new proposal.
Hamas sources said last week that the group had accepted a US-backed deal, but on Thursday political bureau member Bassem Naim said the new version meant “the continuation of killing and famine… and does not meet any of our people’s demands, foremost among them halting the war”.
“Nonetheless, the movement’s leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,” he added.