NEW DELHI: A senior United Nations official has declared that northern Gaza is now witnessing a full-blown famine after more than six months of conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory.
Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Program, said that civilians in the most isolated part of Gaza have crossed the threshold into famine.
"It's horror. There is famine - full-blown famine - in the north, and it's moving its way south." McCain told NBC's 'Meet the Press' in an interview.
McCain further called for the urgent need for a cease-fire and increase in aid through land and sea routes to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The internationally recognized panel that monitors food crises had warned in March that northern Gaza was on the brink of famine, likely to occur in May. Since then, the region has not received the necessary aid to prevent famine, according to a US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) humanitarian official for Gaza.
The USAID official stated that on-the-ground preparations for a new US-led sea route are on schedule to bring in more food, including treatment for hundreds of thousands of starving children, by early or mid-May. This timeline coincides with the expected completion of a floating pier by the American military to receive the shipments. However, the ramp-up of aid delivery via the planned US-backed sea route will be gradual as aid groups test the distribution and security arrangements for relief workers.
At a factory in rural Georgia, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced a $200 million investment aimed at increasing the production of emergency nutritional paste for starving children under 5. Power highlighted the timeliness and importance of this effort in addressing the food crises in Gaza and other parts of the world.
Israeli officials have recently begun slowly reopening some border crossings for relief shipments under pressure from the US and others. However, the aid coming through the sea route, once operational, will only serve a fraction of those in need in Gaza. Aid organizations, including USAID, stress the importance of getting more aid through border crossings to prevent famine.
Hospital officials in northern Gaza reported the first deaths from hunger in early March, with most of the deceased being children. Power stated that the UN has called for 400 metric tons of the nutritional paste "in light of the severe hunger that is pervading across Gaza right now, and the severe, acute humanitarian crisis." USAID expects to provide a quarter of that amount.
USAID is coordinating with the World Food Program and other humanitarian partners and governments on security and distribution for the pier project, while US military forces complete its construction. However, the offshore assembly of the floating pier has been temporarily paused due to high winds and sea swells, causing unsafe conditions for soldiers. The partially built pier and the military vessels involved have been moved to Israel's Port of Ashdod, where work will continue. The delay is expected to last several days, possibly until later next week, depending on weather conditions.
The struggles this week with the first aid delivery through a newly reopened land corridor into north Gaza highlighted the uncertainty about security and the ongoing danger faced by relief workers. Israeli settlers blocked the convoy before it crossed on Wednesday, and once inside Gaza, Hamas militants commandeered the convoy before UN officials reclaimed it.
Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Program, said that civilians in the most isolated part of Gaza have crossed the threshold into famine.
"It's horror. There is famine - full-blown famine - in the north, and it's moving its way south." McCain told NBC's 'Meet the Press' in an interview.
McCain further called for the urgent need for a cease-fire and increase in aid through land and sea routes to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The internationally recognized panel that monitors food crises had warned in March that northern Gaza was on the brink of famine, likely to occur in May. Since then, the region has not received the necessary aid to prevent famine, according to a US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) humanitarian official for Gaza.
The USAID official stated that on-the-ground preparations for a new US-led sea route are on schedule to bring in more food, including treatment for hundreds of thousands of starving children, by early or mid-May. This timeline coincides with the expected completion of a floating pier by the American military to receive the shipments. However, the ramp-up of aid delivery via the planned US-backed sea route will be gradual as aid groups test the distribution and security arrangements for relief workers.
At a factory in rural Georgia, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced a $200 million investment aimed at increasing the production of emergency nutritional paste for starving children under 5. Power highlighted the timeliness and importance of this effort in addressing the food crises in Gaza and other parts of the world.
Israeli officials have recently begun slowly reopening some border crossings for relief shipments under pressure from the US and others. However, the aid coming through the sea route, once operational, will only serve a fraction of those in need in Gaza. Aid organizations, including USAID, stress the importance of getting more aid through border crossings to prevent famine.
Hospital officials in northern Gaza reported the first deaths from hunger in early March, with most of the deceased being children. Power stated that the UN has called for 400 metric tons of the nutritional paste "in light of the severe hunger that is pervading across Gaza right now, and the severe, acute humanitarian crisis." USAID expects to provide a quarter of that amount.
USAID is coordinating with the World Food Program and other humanitarian partners and governments on security and distribution for the pier project, while US military forces complete its construction. However, the offshore assembly of the floating pier has been temporarily paused due to high winds and sea swells, causing unsafe conditions for soldiers. The partially built pier and the military vessels involved have been moved to Israel's Port of Ashdod, where work will continue. The delay is expected to last several days, possibly until later next week, depending on weather conditions.
The struggles this week with the first aid delivery through a newly reopened land corridor into north Gaza highlighted the uncertainty about security and the ongoing danger faced by relief workers. Israeli settlers blocked the convoy before it crossed on Wednesday, and once inside Gaza, Hamas militants commandeered the convoy before UN officials reclaimed it.
