Washington DC [US], May 17 : Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, US President Donald Trump stressed the importance of addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where many are facing severe food shortages and said that a lot of people are starving in the region.
While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, "A lot of good things are going to happen over the next month. We have to help out the Palestinians. A lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides. But we are going to do a good job."
The World Food Programme (WFP) in a release on Monday had said that the populations across the Gaza Strip are at risk of famine as fighting surged again, border crossings are still closed, and food is dangerously scarce.
It further said that hunger and malnutrition intensified sharply since all aid was blocked from entering on March 2.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) snapshot released on May 12, 4,70,000 people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), and the entire population is experiencing acute food insecurity.
The report warned of a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, projecting that 71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers will urgently require treatment. At the beginning of 2025, agencies estimated 60,000 children would need treatment.
UN World Food Programme's Executive Director Cindy McCain had said, "Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border. We can't get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March. It's imperative that the international community acts urgently to get aid flowing into Gaza again. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people."
The vast majority of children in Gaza are facing extreme food deprivation, as confirmed by 17 UN agencies and NGOs in the IPC report. Coupled with the severely limited access to health services and critical shortages of clean water and sanitation, rapid increases in acute malnutrition are expected in North Gaza, Gaza and Rafah governorates.
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