Skyrocketing Food Prices Plague Gaza Amid Eighth Week of Aid Blockade, Warns ActionAid
Title: Starvation Crisis Intensifies in Gaza: ActionAid Issues Urgent Appeal
In the heart of Gaza Strip, a growing humanitarian disaster unfolds. The Region has been grappling with soaring food prices for over eight weeks now, all thanks to the continued Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid, as reported by ActionAid.
This blockade, lasting for more than eight weeks, has blocked the entry of essentials like food, medicine, and other necessities, triggering a massive food shortage. As a result, families in Gaza find themselves sliding deeper into hunger and destitution.
Market shelves in Gaza, once brimming with goods, now stand barren. Staples like meat, eggs, dairy, and fruits are nowhere to be found. The remaining items are being sold at astronomical prices. A bag of flour has reached a whopping $300 in Deir Al-Balah and an astounding $500 in northern Gaza.
ActionAid paints a grim picture, stating that most people are now surviving on a single, meager meal a day, primarily consisting of pasta, rice, or canned food. The scarcity of food and the lack of dietary diversity are taking a grim toll on the health and wellbeing of the citizens.
In March alone, more than 3,700 children were admitted to treatment for acute malnutrition, an alarming 80% increase from the previous month, as per UNOCHA. Pregnant and nursing mothers at Al-Awda Hospital, supported by ActionAid's local partner, have also been reported to be in the grasp of moderate to severe malnutrition, with most newborns born underweight.
Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator for ActionAid Palestine, expresses dire concern, stating, "The consequences of the Israeli authority's appalling and outrageously illegal aid blockade are becoming brutally clear. The population is already having a hard time finding anything to eat, and mass starvation is imminent. This is an entirely avoidable and man-made catastrophe. It's time to act now."
Just like Riham, Tasneem, a member of Palestinian NGOs Network, calls upon the international community to take urgent action. Describing the situation in Gaza as the worst she has witnessed in the ongoing 18-month-long war, she warns that the Territory is now in the midst of a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe.
Families in Gaza, devoid of any other food options, have been forced to grind dried pasta to make flour, using it to bake meager pieces of bread. All bakeries in Gaza have ceased operations due to the total lack of flour. Meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, and fresh food have vanished from the landscape.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it could lead to deaths from hunger if Israel continues with the blockade. It's time, says Tasneem, for the international community to step in, cease the hostilities, reopen the border crossings, and allow life-saving humanitarian aid to enter.
Tasneem categorically points out, "By refusing any aid into Gaza, the Israeli authorities are acting in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. They are engaged in a starvation campaign, amounting to collective punishment of the population in Gaza. Food must never be used as a weapon of war."
- ActionAid has issued an urgent appeal, highlighting the intensifying starvation crisis in Gaza.
- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the continued Israeli blockade could lead to deaths from hunger.
- The ongoing Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid has been lasting for more than eight weeks, as per ActionAid's reports.
- The blockade has blocked the entry of essentials like food, medicine, and other necessities, triggering a massive food shortage in Gaza.
- Pregnant and nursing mothers at Al-Awda Hospital, supported by ActionAid's local partner, have been reported to be in the grasp of moderate to severe malnutrition.
- In March alone, more than 3,700 children were admitted to treatment for acute malnutrition, an alarming 80% increase from the previous month.
- Markets in Gaza, once brimming with goods, now stand barren as staples like meat, eggs, dairy, and fruits are nowhere to be found.
- Tasneem, a member of Palestinian NGOs Network, calls upon the international community to take urgent action, describing the situation in Gaza as the worst she has ever witnessed in the ongoing 18-month-long war.
- The remaining items in the markets are being sold at astronomical prices, with a bag of flour reaching a whopping $300 in Deir Al-Balah and an astounding $500 in northern Gaza.
- Families in Gaza, devoid of any other food options, have been forced to grind dried pasta to make flour, using it to bake meager pieces of bread.
- In the general news, the story of the starvation crisis in Gaza has become a matter of outrageous concern for humanitarian organizations and governments around the world.
- Tasneem points out that by refusing any aid into Gaza, the Israeli authorities are acting in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
- The consequences of the Israeli authority's appalling and outrageously illegal aid blockade are becoming brutally clear, with the population already having a hard time finding anything to eat, and mass starvation imminent.
- As the crisis deepens, cases of malnutrition and food-related issues have added another layer of tangible evidence to the dire lifestyle conditions of citizens living in the midst of war and conflicts in Palestine.
