New Delhi: The United Nations on Friday warned that Gaza is now the only place on Earth where every single person is at risk of famine. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said, “Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth,” and added that 100% of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine.
This statement comes as Gaza continues to face extreme hunger, violence, and lawlessness. In Gaza City, seven police officers were killed in an Israeli airstrike while they were trying to stop looting in a market.
According to the Hamas-run interior ministry, the officers were trying to restore order when they were targeted. Israel hasn’t responded to this specific incident but said it carried out airstrikes on “dozens of terror targets” across Gaza. Medics say at least 44 people were killed that day, including 23 in the Bureij refugee camp.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said that a warehouse in Deir al-Balah was broken into by large crowds of starving people. During the chaos, two people were shot dead.
In Rafah, a new food distribution center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the US and Israel, was overwhelmed earlier this week. Thousands of people rushed the gates in desperation, and nearly 50 were shot and wounded. A senior UN official said the Israeli military fired warning shots but not directly at civilians.
Footage from Thursday showed long lines of people carrying bags of flour, with some walking miles just for a chance at food. A woman was seen struggling in the crowd, and many left without receiving anything. Sixty-year-old Abu Fawzi Faroukh said young men were getting food, but older people and women couldn’t get through the crowd. Hani Abed, who couldn’t get aid for his family of ten, said, “I will take dirt for my children to eat.” Another woman, Umm Mohammed Abu Hajar, said, “Some people eat and some people don’t.”
GHF said it gave out 17,280 food boxes on Thursday, which equals nearly a million meals. It plans to open more food centers, including in northern Gaza. But the UN has refused to work with the GHF, calling their system unethical and not enough to help all 2.1 million people in Gaza. A UN official said the system was “engineering scarcity.” However, the US and Israel believe it prevents aid from being taken by Hamas.
Israel placed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2 and started new military operations two weeks later. On May 19, it launched a wider offensive and only recently began allowing some aid to enter.
This military action started after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry says over 54,000 people have been killed, including nearly 4,000 since fighting restarted in March.
On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a new proposal, which included a 60-day ceasefire and a gradual release of hostages. But Hamas rejected the deal, saying it lacked clear guarantees for a permanent ceasefire and complete troop withdrawal.
