Assad Raza
This week, during a meeting in Scotland with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged what many in the international community have been warning for months: there is “real starvation” in Gaza. His statement, though brief, reflects a growing recognition, even among staunch allies of Israel, that a humanitarian crisis is happening in Gaza.
Also, this week, two Israeli human rights organizations, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, issued a joint declaration accusing their own government of committing genocide in Gaza. The two reports they provided outline the systemic dismantling of food supplies, the restriction of humanitarian aid, and the ongoing conflict that has disrupted Gaza’s access to clean water, fuel for electricity, and other life-sustaining essentials.
While these statements underscore the severity of the situation, the debate over starvation in Gaza continues to be severely polarized. On the one hand, numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF, have documented a severe and worsening food crisis. On the other hand, Israeli officials and their supporters argue that such claims are exaggerated, politically motivated, or entirely false.
The objective facts, however, are difficult to ignore. According to a March 2024 report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), famine was imminent in northern Gaza, and at least half the population was experiencing catastrophic food insecurity at that time. Similarly, the WHO last year warned of an “explosion of preventable child deaths” if access to humanitarian assistance did not improve immediately. More recently, UNICEF has confirmed the deaths of dozens of children due to severe malnutrition, noting that these deaths “could have been prevented.”
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