In an effort to supply food to the Gaza Strip, the US, other nations, and private groups have all been involved. Before Israel and Hamas’s battle started, the area had experienced acute poverty, frequent power outages, and a shortage of potable water. The severity of each of those issues has increased significantly in the past several months. Recently, the UN issued a warning about an impending famine in Gaza. The delivery of food and water to the area is beset with difficulties.
Humanitarian officials in Gaza have called for a quick ceasefire; the UN warned this in a press statement in February. The UN Security Council was informed by experts of an approaching famine. The UN head of coordination for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ramesh Rajasingham, stated that the state of affairs is terrible. By May, there may be a total agricultural collapse, he said, and over 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip might be on the verge of starvation.
Rajasingham said that transporting even the most basic supplies to the area would be extremely difficult for humanitarian groups hoping to provide meals. He added that very little assistance would be available without a truce. The deputy director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Maurizio Martina, informed the Security Council that there is a crisis affecting the whole population of Gaza and that the supply has been affected in several ways. He called on Israel to implement a ceasefire and reopen the border crossings.
A few members of the council charged that Israel was waging war on famine. They urged Israel to refrain from using starvation as a weapon of war and to abide by international law.
Presently, the majority of Gaza’s boundaries are under Israeli control. Only a restricted number of humanitarian supplies are permitted inside the nation. The majority of the bombardment has been concentrated in Northern Gaza, where the situation is particularly bad.
200 tons of food organized by World Central Kitchen, an NGO led by Chef José Andrés, arrived in Gaza on March 15th via ship pulling a barge. The food was being sent to the country’s north, where there have been more and more stories of children dying from starvation.
Since the start of the conflict, Israel has also sent some 254,000 tons of humanitarian aid—of which 165,000 tons are food—to Gaza. The United States and its allies are constructing a floating dock that will serve as a port and enable ships to discharge food to feed the starving populace. When the dock will be finished is unknown.
