The United Nations has issued a warning, indicating that the northern Gaza region faces the imminent threat of famine, with half of its population already experiencing "crisis levels of food insecurity or worse."
Senior United Nations official Cindy McCain, the American director of the U.N. World Food Programme stated on Friday that northern Gaza, heavily impacted by over six months of conflict between Israel and Hamas, has now reached a state of "full-blown famine" due to severe Israeli restrictions on food supplies to the Palestinian territory.
McCain expressed her concerns to NBC's "Meet the Press," stating, "It's horror." She emphasized that there is a full-blown famine in the north and it's gradually spreading southward. She also emphasized the critical need for a ceasefire where 2.3 million people reside and a significant increase in aid delivery through both land and sea routes to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In April, Samantha Power, the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, became the first U.S. official to acknowledge that it was credible to assess that famine is happening in certain areas of Gaza. However, no other U.S. official has made such an assessment.
McCain noted that while there hasn't been an official declaration of famine, based on the observations and experiences of her organization on the ground, she believes that there is a significant issue in Gaza.
A humanitarian official from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Gaza informed The Associated Press that preparations on the ground for a new US-led sea route were progressing as planned. This initiative aims to bring in additional food supplies, including treatment for hundreds of thousands of malnourished children, by early to mid-May. The American military anticipates completing the construction of a floating pier to facilitate the receipt of these shipments by that time.
The USAID official stated that the scaling up of aid delivery through the planned US-backed sea route will be gradual. Aid organizations will assess distribution and security arrangements for relief workers during this process. The official requested anonymity due to security concerns in a conflict zone. These remarks provide some of the agency's initial insights into the status of preparations for the Biden administration's $320 million Gaza pier project, for which USAID is assisting in coordinating on-the-ground security and distribution.
Israel, which regulates entry into Gaza, did not provide an immediate response. However, it has indicated that it is starting to permit additional food and humanitarian aid through land crossings.
In response to pressure from the US and other entities, Israeli officials have recently started to gradually reopen some border crossings to facilitate the delivery of relief shipments.
Once the sea route becomes operational, the aid it provides will only reach a fraction—approximately half a million people—of those in need of assistance in Gaza. Aid organizations, including USAID, emphasize the importance of increasing aid through border crossings to prevent famine.
