T
he confirmation by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN agency based in Rome, that a famine is underway in the Gaza governorate surprised no one. For months, NGOs and UN agencies with recognized expertise on Gaza had warned that this outcome was inevitable. Israel's new military offensive threatening Gaza City could make the famine even more devastating.
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For Israel, UN recognition of Gaza famine is a diplomatic and legal setback
The facts are indisputable. After nearly two years of war, the Israeli army has destroyed almost all of Gaza's farmland, wiping out local food production, as highlighted in a July report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The loss has not been offset by an increase in international food aid; quite the opposite. After suspending aid completely for two and a half months at the start of the year, the Israeli government allowed it to resume on terms that were considered wholly inadequate in light of the mounting needs.
