We begin this hour with news that has uh
recently broken that famine has been
confirmed in Gaza City for the first
time according to the United Nations
backed body responsible for monitoring
food security. The IPC says more than
500,000 people in Gaza are facing
starvation, destitution, and death. It
says that malnutrition threatens the
lives of 132,000 children under five in
Gaza until June next year. The body adds
that the famine in Gaza is entirely
man-made and that it can be halted and
reversed. The IPC confirmed famine in
the Gaza governorate on the territory
which includes Gaza city. It says that
catastrophic conditions are projected to
expand to Deabala and Kununis by the end
of September, but it has been unable to
fully assess the situation in two other
areas of the strip. Israel has rejected
the findings of the report, saying it's
false and biased. The United Nations
Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom
Fletcher has reacted to the report.
Speaking in Geneva, he said the famine
must spur the world to more urgent
action. Here's what he said.
>> Good morning everyone.
Please read the IPC report
cover to cover.
Read it in sorrow and in anger.
not as words and numbers,
but as names and lives.
Be in no doubt that this is irrefutable
testimony.
It is a famine,
the Gaza famine.
It is a famine that we could have
prevented if we had been allowed.
Yet food stacks up at borders because of
systematic obstruction by Israel.
It is a famine within a few hundred
meters of food in a fertile land.
It is a famine that hits the most
vulnerable first, each with a name, each
with a story.
That strips people of dignity before it
strips them of life.
that forces a parent to choose which
child to feed,
that forces people to risk their lives
to seek food.
It is a famine that we repeatedly warned
of,
but that the international media has not
been allowed in to cover, to bear
witness.
It is a famine in 2025.
A 21st century famine watched over by
drones and the most advanced military
technology in history.
It is a famine openly promoted by some
Israeli leaders as a weapon of war.
It is a famine on all of our watch.
Everyone owns this. The Gaza famine is
the world's famine.
It is a famine that asks,
"But what did you do?"
A famine that will and must haunt us
all.
Is it is a predictable and a preventable
famine. A famine caused by cruelty,
justified by revenge, enabled by
indifference,
and sustained by complicity.
It is a famine that must spur the world
to more urgent action. That must shame
the world to do better.
It is a famine that therefore also asks,
"And what now will you do?"
My ask, my plea, my demand to Prime
Minister Netanyahu and anyone who can
reach him. enough
ceasefire.
Open the crossings north and south, all
of them. Let us get food and other
supplies in unimpeded
and at the massive scale required.
End the retribution.
It is too late for far too many, but not
for everyone in Gaza.
enough
for humanity's sake. Let us in.
>> Tom Fletcher. Well, as we mentioned, uh,
Israel has firmly rejected the findings
of the IPC report. The military body in
charge of aid, Kogat, posted on social
media saying KAT categorically rejects
the Gaza report, including the claim of
famine in the Gaza Strip and
particularly in Gaza City. Previous
reports and assessments by the IPC have
repeatedly been proven inaccurate and do
not reflect the reality on the ground.
It goes on to call the IPC's evaluation
one-sided and it disregards the
extensive humanitarian efforts
undertaken in Gaza. Let's speak to our
Gaza correspondent Rushi Abual who's
currently in Istanbul. And this is
confirmation Rushi of what many aid
organizations have been saying for some
time.
Yeah, it's significant. I mean people in
Gaza say it's too late because they all
sign of famine were there for a very
long time. People have not been eaten
for days in in in Gaza. People were
screaming writing in social media. The
very few people who have access to the
internet in Gaza were writing day and
night that we are starving. We don't
have access to clean water. We don't
have access to uh to medicine. Over 300
people were died in hospitals according
to Hamasan health ministry from some
sort of millutrition
size and also from diseases related to
this. So some of the people have
sensitive sensitivity in eating for
example gluten or wheat and those people
are the most people who are suffering
now in in Gaza. Not only food but but
medicine which is very very important.
If you have a diabetes in Gaza, you
can't you can't find a medicine for it
in any of thearmacies or the hospitals.
People who suffer from blood pressure
and other diseases are suffering in Gaza
for a very very long time. So the people
in Gaza appreciating this significant
new report by the UN pack body and they
they believe that this should constitute
more pressure on on Israel and the
international community to allow more
food in Gaza. 100 truck or so every day
isn't enough is a drop in the ocean
according to the people. They need about
500 to 600 truck and this is the only
time where 500
allowed is during a ceasefire. Back in
January when about 57 days of ceasefire
people were enjoying some sort of relief
when we talk about food and medicine.
>> But Israel claims that this report is
false and biased.
Well, Israel claimed that they have not
killed any civilians in Gaza for a very
long time. They are they are claiming
that they are not committing any sort of
you know crimes in Gaza. But
Palestinians all the time insist that
Israel is committing crimes in Gaza and
one of them is using starvation as a
weapon of war. We have been hearing this
from all Palestinians in Gaza and
outside Gaza. And whoever is focusing in
this were like accusing Israel of using
you know
food as a weapon of war when when people
do not eat for four or five days. So
this is for the people of Gaza is a
crime. We have been talking to I have
personally spoke to people who didn't
eat for 4 days. you know when when ch
children are dying in the in the
hospital this is
something that Israel can't deny while
we have many people in Gaza filming from
hospitals filming hundreds of people
queuing in a to fill water that is not
clean
people rejected Israeli you know
accusation
>> rashi for the moment thank you very much
rashi abolu
the United Nations Secretary General
Antonio Guterish has reacted to the
report from the IPC. In a statement, he
said, "Just when it seems there are no
words left to describe the living hell
in Gaza, a new one has been added.
Famine." The UN chief goes on to say,
"It's not a mystery, but rather a
man-made disaster, a moral indictment,
and a failure of humanity itself."
Amjud Shaw is director of the
Palestinian NGO Network. He gave us his
reaction to the report.
>> Thank you. I'm pasting guys. I know well
what's the meaning of this word and
what's the the the critical implication
of this on our bodies and our children
and what we are facing day by day minute
by minute by this blockade and by this
Israeli attacks and by their plans also
to reoccupy Gaza and destroy Gaza and to
enforce the Palestinians to be
displaced. This kind of famine it's
unprecedented all all over the world.
It's handmade. It's human made. It's not
made by natural catastrophe. And Israel
engineered this starvation from day one
of this war through the intensive
destruction of everything.
About 90% of Gaza strip destroyed. What
have been left now it's about 14% of
Gaza strip where the people about 2.2
million are staying. It's very limited
space and day by day it's under under
Israeli strikes with very very limited
amount of egg which is entering and we
could see our children who are starving
to death till death and while the
international community just criticize
or raise some concerns. This is real
time of this after this announcement for
actions. actions is needed to save the
lives more lives of these children,
infants and these pregnant women who are
in very critical dark conditions and
could be died or killed by these air
strikes or by starvation and thirst and
diseases. It's collective. It's not that
I cannot say this one who is is okay and
that one is infirm all we are suffering
them there is very shortage amount on
the supplies that we are suffering from
very limited amount and Israel is
calculating the calories of with the
entry but now we have no milk for these
children this is a time in order to
pressure for ceasefire to stop this war
to enter all supplies and we need spe
specialized medical teams to get in Gaza
to deal with tens tens of thousands of
children who need medical treatment for
the cute malnutrition that they are
facing.
>> You mentioned the word thirst there as
well because access to clean water for
drinking for sanitation is also dire.
>> Yes. Yes. I I confirm I confirm that the
share of each Palestinian in Gaza for
water for daily use or drink it's less
than five liters a day and this is
something that catastrophic while we
have this uh mountains of solid waste.
Children are suffering from also so many
diseases because of this while our
hospitals most of it out of service. We
have no medications and the hospitals
are overwhelmed by injured and in the
same time patients and we have very
critical patient cases who need for mid
evacuation above 15,000 and most of them
children we have cancer patients we have
these cases who cannot we cannot deal
with them on these conditions and every
day we are losing lives of these elders
women all people disability they are
facing very critical moments these days
While Israel is just threatening the
people in order to evacuate them while
they also they are bombarding and air
striking the different sites in Gaza.
This is great failure of the
international community in order to
pressure the Israelis to stop the war to
stop the grave violation their genocide
on the Palestinian civilians.
Israel has just just briefly on this.
Israel says in a statement, I'm just um
shorthanding it here, says that this
evaluation is one-sided and it
disregards the extensive humanitarian
efforts undertaken in in Gaza.
Your response to their to their reaction
just briefly, please.
>> We use these Israel claims. It's uh now
we have this announcement by the UN
because this came by facts and Israel
the first to know the results of its
attacks of its grave violations. It's of
its calculated intro of aid. It's also
misleading the international community
by this announcement that have what's we
are talking about fa facts and I'm
calling on the pressure to let in the
international media to come to Gaza to
see to witness to talk with the people
to go to the hospitals to the clinics
I'm based in Gaza city and I know well
what's the meaning of this because we
are facing these details day by day
minute by minute
>> I'm Judge Shawer from the Palestinian
Inian NGO network.