Gaza’s Food Shortage Reaches Breaking Point Amid Ongoing Conflict
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Sulaiman - . December 3, 2024
- . Update: December 3, 2024 6:25 pm
“Today, food availability is at an all-time low across the entire Gaza Strip and food supply has sharply deteriorated.The window of opportunity to deliver assistance is now, today, not tomorrow. Food, medicine and fuel are self-evident priorities but we must also prioritize the ability to grow food locally where it is needed most to ensure survival,” said the FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol who spoke today at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to enhance humanitarian response in Gaza.
The whole Gaza Strip is at risk of starvation from November 2024 to April 2025 according to the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which was released in October.
According to IPC Phase 5, a Catastrophic event some 133,000 individuals or 6% of the population are already living with fatal levels of food insecurity which means they have virtually no food and are unable to meet their basic needs. In the upcoming months, this figure is anticipated to almost triple.
Furthermore, the independent Famine Review Committee stated in early November that there is a high probability that famine is either now happening or will soon occur in several areas of northern Gaza. It is already reported by the media that some Palestinians in the besieged north are completely running out of supplies.
Bechdol questioned FAO’s commitment to stepping up its actions while stressing that access is necessary for reducing famine and stopping its spread throughout the Gaza Strip and beyond.
In order to do this she urged the Member States to increase pressure on the FAO to remove the restriction on private food imports that has been in action in southern Gaza since early October and to raise funds for the organization’s $53 million appeal which is a part of the UN Humanitarian Flash Appeal for 2025.
In order to reestablish local food production, these funds will provide time critical agricultural inputs to some 80,000 farmers, herders and fishermen.
“In Gaza, ensuring the right to food is not just about meeting immediate needs. It is about safeguarding human dignity, preventing famine from spreading, and laying the groundwork for rebuilding a resilient agrifood system,” she concluded.
Prior to October 7, Gaza produced most of its own red meat, olive oil and fruits and was mostly self-sufficient in fresh milk, eggs, vegetables, poultry and fish. But over a year into the conflict, agrifood systems have broken down and local food production which is the main source of nutrition and occasionally the only source of food for some people has completely collapsed throughout Gaza.
Since the escalation of hostilities, approximately 70% of croplands in Gaza which accounted for up to one-third of daily food consumption have been damaged or destroyed, as have orchards, greenhouses, water wells and other agricultural infrastructure as per the most recent geospatial analysis conducted by FAO-UNOSAT.
Additionally over half of sheep and goat herds and nearly 95% of cattle have died. In addition to destroying people’s livelihoods these animal losses have cut off access to vital and nourishing supplies of milk and protein.
