NEW YORK, May 04 (APP): The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said that she believes there is a \u201cfull-blown famine\u201d in northern Gaza, after seven months of relentless Israel\u2019s bombing amid several Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
\n\u201cWhenever you have conflicts like this, and emotions rage high, and things happen in a war, famine happens,\u201d WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said during an interview with NBC\u2019s news show \u201cMeet The Press\u201d , which is set to air on Sunday
\n\u201cWhat I can explain to you is \u2014 is that there is famine \u2014 full-blown famine \u2014 \u201d in the north, and it\u2019s moving its way south,\u201d Ms. McCain, an American national, said.
\nSince mid-March, the United Nations has said famine is \u201cimminent\u201d in Gaza, but has not yet officially stated that it believes famine has struck the territory.
\nIn April, Samantha Power, the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) became the first U.S. official to say that it was credible to assess that famine is occurring in portions of Gaza. No other U.S. official has made that assessment.
\nMs. McCain said that while there has not yet been an official declaration of famine, based on what her organization has seen and experienced on the ground, she believes there is a \u201cfull-blown\u201d issue in Gaza.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s horror. It\u2019s \u2013 You know, it\u2019s so hard to look at and it\u2019s so hard to hear, also,\u201d McCain said in her interview.
\nShe went on to say that she is hopeful for a ceasefire in Gaza so that people can begin to be fed \u201cin a much faster fashion.\u201d Ms. McCain added that the people in Gaza need \u201cwater, sanitation, medicine \u2013 it\u2019s all part of the famine \u2014 the famine issue.\u201d
\nEfforts to provide food aid to Gaza have been met both by Israeli resistance and ceaseless air strikes.
\nWorld Central Kitchen, a U.S.-based nonprofit group that has distributed over 43 million meals across Gaza, just resumed operations Monday after seven of its aid workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike on April 1.
\nEarlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to \u201cdo everything possible to avert an entirely preventable human-made famine\u201d.
\nLack of security is a major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza, and he stressed that humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel as well as people in need \u201cmust not be targets\u201d.
\n\u201cWe welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative to the massive use of land routes,\u201d he said, before again calling on Israel to allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza, including for the UN\u2019s Palestine relief agency, UNRWA.
\nGuterres also addressed how Israeli attacks have \u201cdecimated\u201d the health system in the enclave, where two thirds of hospitals and health centres are out of commission, while many of those remaining are seriously damaged.
\n\u201cSome hospitals now resemble cemeteries,\u201d he said, voicing deep alarm over reports of the discovery of mass graves at several locations, including at Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals.
\nMore than 390 bodies reportedly have been exhumed at Nasser Hospital alone, and \u201cthere are competing narratives around several of these mass graves, including serious allegations that some of those buried were \u201cunlawfully killed,\u201d he added.
\nThe UN chief said it is imperative that independent international forensic investigators are allowed immediate access to these sites to determine the precise circumstances under which hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied.
\n\u201cThe families of the dead and missing have a right to know what happened, and the world has a right to accountability for any violations of international law that may have taken place,\u201d he said.
\nThe Secretary-General ended his remarks by drawing attention to UNRWA and its \u201cirreplaceable and indispensable work\u201d\u009d supporting millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
\n\u201cUNRWA\u2019s presence across the region is a source of hope and stability. Its education, healthcare and other services provide a sense of normality, safety and stability to desperate communities,\u201d he said.
\nThe agency recently appealed for $1.2 billion to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to respond to needs in the West Bank, where violence is rising.
\nUNRWA largely depends on donors and some 16 countries halted their contributions earlier this year following Israeli allegations that 12 staff were involved in the 7 October attacks. The UN appointed an independent body to review the agency\u2019s efforts to ensure the humanitarian principle of neutrality.
\nThe panel, headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, recently published its report which found that \u201cthe set of rules and the mechanisms and procedures in place (at UNRWA) are the most elaborate within the UN system\u201d.
\nGuterres said an action plan is being put in place to implement the report\u2019s recommendations, and he appealed for cooperation from donors, host countries and staff.
\nMeanwhile, most countries that suspended contributions to UNRWA have resumed them, and the Secretary-General said \u201cwe are optimistic that others will join.\u201d Additionally, some UN Member States have given to the agency for the first time, while private donors have also provided support.
\nHowever, as a funding gap persists, he urged Member States and donors to pledge generously to ensure the agency\u2019s work continues.
\n\u201cThis is the moment to reaffirm our hope for and contributions to a two-State solution \u2013 the only sustainable path to peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK, May 04 (APP): The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said that she believes there is a \u201cfull-blown famine\u201d in northern Gaza, after seven months of relentless Israel\u2019s bombing amid several Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the besieged […]<\/p>\n
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