Israel pauses some military action in Gaza as starvation spreads: What to know
Aid groups have criticized Israeli leaders for months over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The country cut off supplies to the region at the start of March before reopening aid lines – with new restrictions – in May.
"A third of the population (in Gaza) is not eating for days," the World Food Programme, led by Cindy McCain, said in a statement on X. "Some 470,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions. 90,000 women and children need urgent nutrition treatment. People are dying due to a lack of humanitarian assistance."
More than 125 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said over the weekend. A 5-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on July 26.
In recent weeks, more than 800 people have been killed while trying to reach food, according to the United Nations, mostly in shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centers.
Israeli officials have said they've allowed enough food into Gaza since war broke out in October 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, blaming the terrorist group for suffering in a region of 2.2 million people.
Meanwhile, ceasefire talks have stalled, with no permanent end to the fighting in sight. Here's what to know about the growing humanitarian crisis.
What's going on in Gaza?
Beginning July 27, Israel will pause military action in a humanitarian area along the coast of Gaza for 10 hours at a time, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, each day.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Tom Fletcher, aid chief for the United Nations, called the move a "welcome announcement" in a post on X.
"In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," Fletcher wrote.
What do human rights groups say?
The U.N.'s World Food Program also welcomed the news, saying in a statement, "we hope these measures will allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays."
Israel's move comes after 111 groups signed a joint statement calling for governments to take action, as mass starvation spread and restrictions on humanitarian aid prevented resources from reaching Palestinians in Gaza.
"The Government of Israel's restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death," the groups, made up of mostly aid and human rights organizations, wrote.
Why was aid restricted before?
Hunger in Gaza escalated after Israel cut off supplies in March.
Israel had said it was committed to allowing in aid – but needed to control it to prevent it from being diverted by Hamas. The country also accused the U.N. of failing to act in a timely fashion, saying 700 truckloads of aid were idling inside Gaza.
"Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organizations," the Israeli military said in a July 26 statement. "Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas."
An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reported last week.
Where are ceasefire talks?
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on July 25 to abandon ceasefire negotiations, saying it was clear Hamas did not want a deal.
"I think they want to die," Trump said of the militants. "And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job."
Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to reach a deal, saying the only real solution to the suffering in Gaza is a complete end to the fighting.
"An agreed ceasefire is the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner," the U.N. World Food Program said in its statement.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel pauses military action, opens aid lines amid Gaza crisis
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The Hill
2 minutes ago
- The Hill
Why there hasn't been a formal declaration of famine in Gaza
The leading international authority on food crises said Tuesday that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.' It predicted 'widespread death' without immediate action. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for two years, and that recent developments, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel, have 'dramatically worsened' the situation. Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave and that Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into the Israeli offensive launched after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces as they try to reach aid sites or convoys, according to witnesses, health officials and the United Nations' human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots. The IPC warning stopped short of a formal declaration of famine. Here's why: Gaza's population of roughly 2 million Palestinians relies almost entirely on outside aid. Israel's offensive has wiped out what was already limited local food production. Israel's blockade, along with ongoing fighting and chaos inside the territory, has further limited people's access to food. The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza's hunger crisis has reached 'new and astonishing levels of desperation.' Nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza's population is going days without eating, Ross Smith, the agency's director for emergencies, said Monday. Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday that more than 100 people have died while showing signs of hunger and malnutrition, mostly children. It did not give their exact cause of death. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and its figures on war deaths are seen by the U.N. and other experts as the most reliable estimate of casualties. The IPC was first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia. It includes more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies. Famine can appear in pockets — sometimes small ones — and a formal classification requires caution. The IPC has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and last year in parts of Sudan's western Darfur region. Tens of thousands are believed to have died in Somalia and South Sudan. It rates an area as in famine when all three of these conditions are confirmed: — 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. — At least 30% of children 6 months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition, based on a weight-to-height measurement; or 15% of that age group suffer from acute malnutrition based on the circumference of their upper arm. — At least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease. Gaza poses a major challenge for experts because Israel severely limits access to the territory, making it difficult and in some cases impossible to gather data. The IPC said Tuesday that data indicate famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza, and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. While the IPC says it is the 'primary mechanism' used by the international community to conclude whether a famine is happening or projected, it typically doesn't make such a declaration itself. Often, U.N. officials together with governments will make a formal statement based on an analysis from the IPC. But the IPC says once a famine is declared it's already too late. While it can prevent further deaths, it means many people will have died by the time a famine is declared. Most cases of severe malnutrition in children arise through a combination of lack of nutrients along with an infection, leading to diarrhea and other symptoms that cause dehydration, said Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation. 'There are no standard guidelines for physicians to classify cause of death as 'malnutrition' as opposed to infection,' he said. When famine occurs, there are often relatively few deaths from hunger alone. Far more people die from a combination of malnutrition, disease and other forms of deprivation. All of these count as excess deaths — separate from violence — that can be attributed to a food crisis or famine, he said. Israel's offensive has gutted Gaza's health system and displaced some 90% of its population. With hospitals damaged and overwhelmed by war casualties, it can be difficult to screen people for malnutrition and collect precise data on deaths. 'Data and surveillance systems are incomplete and eroded,' said James Smith, an emergency doctor and lecturer in humanitarian policy at the University College London who spent more than two months in Gaza. 'Which means that all health indicators — and the death toll — are known to be an underestimation,' he said. A declaration of famine should in theory galvanize the international community to rush food to those who need it. But with aid budgets already stretched, and war and politics throwing up obstacles, that doesn't always happen. 'There is not a big, huge bank account' to draw on, said OCHA's Laerke. 'The fundamental problem is that we build the fire engine as we respond.' Aid groups say plenty of food and other aid has been gathered on Gaza's borders, but Israel is allowing only a small amount to enter. Within Gaza, gunfire, chaos and looting have plagued the distribution of food. The international pressure led Israel to announce new measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops of food. Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza. U.N. agencies say Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order, make it difficult to distribute the food that does come in. 'Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilize this spiraling situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming,' the World Food Program said. 'An agreed ceasefire is long overdue.' ___ Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Why there hasn't been a formal declaration of famine in Gaza
The leading international authority on food crises said Tuesday that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.' It predicted 'widespread death' without immediate action. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for two years, and that recent developments, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel, have 'dramatically worsened' the situation. Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave and that Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into the Israeli offensive launched after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces as they try to reach aid sites or convoys, according to witnesses, health officials and the United Nations' human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots. The IPC warning stopped short of a formal declaration of famine. Here's why: The IPC and aid groups says Gaza's hunger crisis is worsening Gaza's population of roughly 2 million Palestinians relies almost entirely on outside aid. Israel's offensive has wiped out what was already limited local food production. Israel's blockade, along with ongoing fighting and chaos inside the territory, has further limited people's access to food. The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza's hunger crisis has reached 'new and astonishing levels of desperation.' Nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza's population is going days without eating, Ross Smith, the agency's director for emergencies, said Monday. Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday that more than 100 people have died while showing signs of hunger and malnutrition, mostly children. It did not give their exact cause of death. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and its figures on war deaths are seen by the U.N. and other experts as the most reliable estimate of casualties. Famine occurs when these conditions are met The IPC was first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia. It includes more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies. Famine can appear in pockets — sometimes small ones — and a formal classification requires caution. The IPC has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and last year in parts of Sudan's western Darfur region. Tens of thousands are believed to have died in Somalia and South Sudan. It rates an area as in famine when all three of these conditions are confirmed: — 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. — At least 30% of children 6 months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition, based on a weight-to-height measurement; or 15% of that age group suffer from acute malnutrition based on the circumference of their upper arm. — At least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease. Gaza poses a major challenge for experts because Israel severely limits access to the territory, making it difficult and in some cases impossible to gather data. The IPC said Tuesday that data indicate famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza, and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. Famine declarations usually come from the UN or governments While the IPC says it is the 'primary mechanism' used by the international community to conclude whether a famine is happening or projected, it typically doesn't make such a declaration itself. Often, U.N. officials together with governments will make a formal statement based on an analysis from the IPC. But the IPC says once a famine is declared it's already too late. While it can prevent further deaths, it means many people will have died by the time a famine is declared. It's not always clear that hunger is the cause of death Most cases of severe malnutrition in children arise through a combination of lack of nutrients along with an infection, leading to diarrhea and other symptoms that cause dehydration, said Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation. 'There are no standard guidelines for physicians to classify cause of death as 'malnutrition' as opposed to infection,' he said. When famine occurs, there are often relatively few deaths from hunger alone. Far more people die from a combination of malnutrition, disease and other forms of deprivation. All of these count as excess deaths — separate from violence — that can be attributed to a food crisis or famine, he said. The war has made it hard to get accurate information Israel's offensive has gutted Gaza's health system and displaced some 90% of its population. With hospitals damaged and overwhelmed by war casualties, it can be difficult to screen people for malnutrition and collect precise data on deaths. 'Data and surveillance systems are incomplete and eroded,' said James Smith, an emergency doctor and lecturer in humanitarian policy at the University College London who spent more than two months in Gaza. 'Which means that all health indicators — and the death toll — are known to be an underestimation,' he said. Even when famine is declared, the response can be lacking A declaration of famine should in theory galvanize the international community to rush food to those who need it. But with aid budgets already stretched, and war and politics throwing up obstacles, that doesn't always happen. 'There is not a big, huge bank account' to draw on, said OCHA's Laerke. 'The fundamental problem is that we build the fire engine as we respond.' Aid groups say plenty of food and other aid has been gathered on Gaza's borders, but Israel is allowing only a small amount to enter. Within Gaza, gunfire, chaos and looting have plagued the distribution of food. The international pressure led Israel to announce new measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops of food. Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza. U.N. agencies say Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order, make it difficult to distribute the food that does come in. 'Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilize this spiraling situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming,' the World Food Program said. 'An agreed ceasefire is long overdue.' ___ Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Gaza death toll hits 60,000 as global monitor demands action to avert famine
Famine fears and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel. CAIRO − A worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death, a hunger monitor warned on Tuesday, as the number of Palestinians reported killed in the conflict with Israel crossed the 60,000 threshold. The hunger alert and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an offensive that has laid waste to much of the enclave and ignited hostilities across the region. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. More: 'Every ounce of food': Trump presses Israel on starvation in Gaza; 'children look very hungry' Starvation, malnutrition, disease With international criticism growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the World Food Program (WFP) said July 29 it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses on Sunday. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said, adding that "famine thresholds" have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip. It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine." More: One meal a day. $20 for an egg. Choosing which kid gets fed. Starvation stalks Gaza For famine to be declared, at least 20% of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or from malnutrition and disease. Gaza health authorities have been reporting more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total stands at 147, among them 88 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks. More: Two Israeli rights groups say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel's strongest ally, President Donald Trump, declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new "food centers." Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was "tough" but there were lies about starvation there. Deadliest conflict The death toll of 60,000 announced by Gaza health authorities, whose figures are often cited by the U.N. and have previously described as reliable by the World Health Organization, underlines this as the deadliest war in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The previous deadliest conflict between Israel and the Hamas Islamist group - which seized control of Gaza in 2007 - was in 2014, when 2,100 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, while Israel lost 67 soldiers and six civilians. Israel launched its latest offensive in response to Hamas' attacks on October 7, 2023, when militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage - Israel's deadliest ever day. The new Palestinian toll does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Thousands more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble, meaning the true toll is likely to be significantly higher, Palestinian officials and rescue workers say. More: USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 30 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza health authorities said. Doctors at Al-Awda Hospital said at least 14 women and 12 children were among the dead. The hospital also said that 13 people had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire along the Salahudeen Road as they waited for aid trucks to roll into Gaza. A total of 55 Palestinians were killed in attacks overnight, Gaza health authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fifty of the hostages seized on October 7 remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive. The latest talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and freeing the hostages collapsed last week. Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would keep fighting until the hostages were freed and Hamas' military and governing capabilities destroyed. Only half of food aid approved Saar said 5,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the last two months, and that Israel would assist those wanting to conduct airdrops - a delivery method that aid groups say is ineffective and tokenistic. Ross Smith, a senior regional programme adviser at the World Food Program, told reporters in Geneva by video: "We're getting approximately 50% of what we're requesting into Gaza since these humanitarian pauses started on Sunday. "We are not going to be able to address the needs of the population unless we can move in the volume that we need." After an 11-week Israeli blockade, limited U.N.-led aid operations resumed on May 19 and a week later the obscure new U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - backed by Israel and the United States - began distributing food aid. The rival efforts have sparked a war of words - pitting Israel, the U.S. and the GHF against the U.N., international aid groups and dozens of governments from around the world. Israel and the U.S. accuse Hamas of stealing aid - which the militants deny - and the U.N. of failing to prevent it. The U.N. says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon. The IPC said 88% of Gaza was now under evacuation orders or within militarized areas, and was critical of GHF efforts. It said most of the GHF food items "require water and fuel to cook, which are largely unavailable." The IPC's Famine Review Committee said: "Our analysis of the food packages supplied by the GHF shows that their distribution plan would lead to mass starvation." GHF said its aid boxes are based on the same ingredient lists used by other aid groups and meet standards for total calories and nutritional value.
