UN Declares Famine Affecting 500,000 in Gaza Amid Aid Obstruction

Inger Ashing, president of Save the Children International, described the devastating impact of famine on children in Gaza during a United Nations Security Council meeting, emphasizing that many starving children are so weak they cannot even cry. She detailed the slow and painful process of death by starvation, where the body consumes its own fat, muscles, and vital organs over several weeks. The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza last week, attributing it to Israel’s systematic obstruction of aid over more than 22 months amid ongoing conflict triggered by the Hamas attack in October 2023. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative reported that 500,000 people in Gaza are already affected by famine, with projections suggesting that by the end of September, around two-thirds of Gaza could be impacted. Ashing called on all members of the Security Council to recognize their legal and moral responsibility to act to stop what she described as an atrocity. Aid groups have been warning for some time about the impending famine due to restrictions on food and essential supplies entering Gaza.