“An Indelible Stain on our Collective Conscience”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification released its report finding catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity affecting civilians across the Gaza strip, the key driver of which is Israeli ground operations, bombardment and besiegement of Palestinian civilians, trapped in the enclave. The findings highlight that “[s]tarvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident”. The IPC found that during the period of 24 November and 7 December, more than 90 percent of the population in Gaza was classified in IPC Phase 3 acute food insecurity or above.* Already, conservative estimates approximate that 80 percent of the population is classified in Emergency IPC Phase 4 and Catastrophe IPC Phase 5, including at least 1.17 million people in Emergency and over half a million people (1 in 4 households) in Catastrophe.
“This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country.”
The IPC projected that during the period of 8 December 2023 to 7 February 2024, the entire civilian population in Gaza would be considered in Crisis IPC Phase 3 or worse. Confirming the findings of the IPC, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) concluded that there is a risk of Famine, if the current situation continues unabated or worsens with intense conflict and limited humanitarian access. Absent a famine declaration the food insecurity situation is at present critical.
“The cessation of hostilities and the restoration of humanitarian space to deliver this multi-sectoral assistance and restore services are essential first steps in eliminating any risk of Famine.”
Prior to the escalation of hostilities on 7 October 2023, 500 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza daily, supporting over 65 percent of the population. Since then, humanitarian aid has only trickled in and is completely inadequate to meet the needs of civilians and the current impediments to humanitarian activity including active fighting and frequent telecommunications blackouts, the ability of humanitarian organisations’ to reach vulnerable civilians is severely impaired. The quantities of aid supplies, food, water, sanitations and medicine, allowed to enter the Gaza strip are insufficient. The UN Secretary-General stated that “the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza.” After 71 days, Israel allowed the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for aid operations, only for the crossing to be hit by airstrikes while humanitarian convoys were in the area. Further, small supply of humanitarian aid is only reaching parts of the enclave. Due to movement restrictions, the majority of the vulnerable population, including in Northern Gaza as well as Deir Al Balah and part of Khan Younis, are cut off from access.
Food production, such as farmland and related infrastructure, bakeries, food warehouses, and water infrastructure also appear to have been targeted in Israeli strikes, causing significant and widespread damage, and further contributing to acute levels of food insecurity and threatening the livelihoods of civilians. Many civilians go entire days without having access to food (4 out 5 households in the Northern governorates and half in the South).
The healthcare system in Gaza is on the verge of collapse with only 9 out of 36 health facilities partially functioning, while there are no functioning facilities in the north, due to the bombardment and destruction of hospital infrastructure and lack of medicine, medical personnel, fuel, and other medical supplies.
In addition, civilians in Gaza are facing a grave increase in the spread of gastrointestinal and respiratory infectious diseases, amongst other diseases. The dire food security situation and the collapsing healthcare system, coupled with the spread of diseases, is further compounded by the lack of sanitation and hygiene and access to WASH facilities, with 1.4 million people staying in overcrowded shelters, while on average, there is 1 shower per 4500 inhabitants and 1 toilet per 220, in turn leading to unsanitary conditions and a breeding ground for the spread of infectious diseases.
Background
In response to an attack perpetrated by Hamas in Israel almost 11 weeks ago on 7 October 2023, Israeli Defence Minister Gallant stated in a speech that “there will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything will be closed.” And so it has been, severely and disproportionately cutting off Palestinian civilians from objects indispensable to their survival (OIS).
This perilous situation has been compounded by a campaign of widespread, intense and sustained Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea, which has been described by the United Nations as causing an “unprecedented and unparalleled” civilian death toll. As at 22 December this surpassed a staggering 20,000 civilians killed over the course of eleven weeks alone, of which 70 percent are widely reported to be women and children, and the displacement of 1.9 million people, often multiple times, corresponding to over 85 percent of the population in Gaza.
Israeli actions in Gaza bear all the hallmarks and indicators associated with the use of starvation as a method of warfare, including by depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, impeding relief supplies, and targeting humanitarian and medical personnel and facilities, effectively impeding their capacity to deliver live-saving aid to vulnerable civilians. The rules of international humanitarian law require the protection of civilians, medical and humanitarian personnel and facilities, the prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare, allowing and facilitating the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, and the prohibition of collective punishment. Parties to the conflict must agree to an immediate, sustained humanitarian ceasefire.
Since 2017, Global Rights Compliance (GRC) has become the leading legal organization on prohibiting, preventing and seeking accountability for mass starvation and associated violations. We possess unrivalled expertise and granular knowledge of the crime of starvation, derived from a dedicated portfolio of analysis, accountability and investigative work. GRC has conducted multiple starvation investigations with partners and pursued advocacy and accountability documentation accurately and sensitively with often unseen datasets and political nuance. Our principal geographic focus has been Syria, South Sudan and Yemen, Tigray, Ethiopia with a more recent focus on Ukraine.
GRC’s Humanitarian Crisis Team is closely monitoring the unfolding and developing situation on the ground in Gaza and calls for an urgent independent investigation into the atrocities that are occurring with a critical need to collect and preserve evidence of these violations and crimes now.
For more information on GRC’s starvation workstream, visit: https://starvationaccountability.org
* The IPC system is a multi-partner initiative developed under the umbrella of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which classified the severity and magnitude of food security and malnutrition according to five phases of severity, namely: minimal/none (Phase I); Stressed (Phase 2); Crisis (Phase 3); Emergency (Phase 4); and Catastrophe (Phase 5).