Israel Independent UN experts: famine is spreading in the Gaza Strip

For several experts advising the UN Human Rights Council, there is no longer any doubt that a famine is spreading in the Gaza Strip. In a statement, they mention several specific cases of babies and children who have died due to malnutrition. "When the first child dies of malnutrition and dehydration, it is irrefutable that a famine has broken out," the experts say. Officially, however, famine emergencies are declared by other UN experts according to very specific criteria. They work with five categories for the IPC reports on food security.

The highest category means: extremely critical situation. The latest IPC report on Gaza from June 25 states that almost half a million people, or 22 percent of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, fall into category five. At the same time, the experts qualify: "The available data does not indicate that there is currently a famine." A famine is only declared when various other criteria are added: in addition to the number of people affected, the extent of malnutrition in young children and the number of deaths.

Baby, 9- and 13-year-old died

The eleven independent experts speak of 34 deaths in the Gaza Strip due to malnutrition since the beginning of the Gaza war. They mention three specific deaths: the case of a baby barely six months old, a 9-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy at the end of May and beginning of June. They do not give any medical details about the circumstances of the deaths. The Gaza war began with the devastating terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The experts called for more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, an end to Israel's closure of the area and a ceasefire. On behalf of the UN Human Rights Council, they deal with issues such as the right to food, mental health and the human rights of Palestinians. They advise the Human Rights Council and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations (UN).

Israel accuses the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip of stealing aid supplies from the population and vehemently denies that there is a famine in the coastal region.