Date of Creation of This Document (January 26, 2025 ).
The World Food Programme (WFP) issued an alarming report about Gaza that warns nearly one-third of its population has gone several days without food due to ongoing conflict and tight access restrictions, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
On Friday, World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain called the situation unprecedented, noting that families are now “well beyond” famine. People are living off animal fodder, wild greens and contaminated water while “entire days pass without even one meal being provided in many households,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.
Warning comes amid continuing military operations and blockade in Gaza that have disrupted supply chains, destroyed infrastructure and made humanitarian aid delivery increasingly hazardous. According to WFP estimates, access and security constraints have made food delivery nearly impossible – making it all but impossible for food aid to reach those most in need.
McCain noted, “there is no safe passageway,” meaning neither they nor they could reach people, leading them to starve to death.
UN estimates show that more than 500,000 residents in Gaza – nearly one third of its population–are facing emergency food insecurity conditions, which in some instances have worsened to such an extent that aid workers describe an “economic famine”.
Medical professionals in Gaza’s enclave have reported rising cases of malnutrition among children, many showing symptoms like stunting and wasting. “This is not simply a food crisis – it is an emergency,” according to Dr. Yara Hamdan, a pediatrician working for an international NGO in southern Gaza.
Global humanitarian organizations have also issued urgent calls for ceasefire and humanitarian corridors to allow food, water and medical supplies into the region. The World Health Organization (WHO) echoed WFP’s call to intervene, warning that “famine-like conditions” have spread quickly through much of Yemen.
Diplomatic efforts to ensure sustained aid access have so far proven largely unsuccessful; several aid convoys have been turned back or shelled, and warehouses housing critical supplies have been damaged or looted over recent weeks.
WFP stressed the urgency and necessity of immediate and sustained international assistance as the situation could quickly become irreversible without immediate and sustained international action. McCain expressed this sentiment, noting how without intervention now “countless lives will be lost not to war but hunger”.
As Gazan civilians continue to bear the brunt of this crisis, pressure mounts for international intervention – not simply with words but through lifesaving aid and political will.
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