Extract from The New Daily
The Gaza Strip’s largest city is officially gripped by famine, the world’s leading authority on food crises says, and it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said famine was occurring in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
The IPC determination comes after months of warnings by aid groups that Israel’s restrictions of food and other aid into Gaza, and its military offensive, were causing high levels of starvation among Palestinian civilians, particularly children.
The grim milestone – the first time the IPC has confirmed a famine in the Middle East – is sure to ramp up international pressure on Israel, which has been in a brutal war with Hamas since the militant group’s October 7 attack.
Israel says it plans to soon escalate the war by seizing Gaza City and other Hamas strongholds, which experts say will exacerbate the hunger crisis.
The IPC said hunger had been driven by fighting and the blockade of aid, and magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production in Gaza, pushing hunger to life-threatening levels across the entire territory after 22 months of war.
More than half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of the population, face catastrophic levels of hunger, and many are at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the IPC report says.
The IPC in July said the “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding in Gaza, but stopped short of an official determination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied there is hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation “lies” promoted by Hamas.
After the publication of images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of hunger-related deaths, Israel announced measures to let more humanitarian aid in.
However, the UN and Palestinians in Gaza say that what aid is entering is far below what is needed.
The Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory rejected the report as “false and biased”.
The agency, known as COGAT, rejected the claim that there was famine in Gaza and said that significant steps had been taken to expand the amount of aid entering the strip in recent weeks.
In a post on social media, Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs also rejected the findings, saying the IPC report was “based on Hamas lies”.
It said that more than 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, including a massive influx in recent weeks with staple foods.
“A rapidly increasing number of people, especially young children, are dying preventable deaths from starvation and disease because Israel made starvation a core part of its campaign to control the strip,” said Chris Newton, an analyst for the International Crisis Group.
Israel’s plan to escalate the war in Gaza City weeks after a warning that famine was beginning there demonstrates how “intentional the famine is and how Israel wields starvation”, he said.
Netanyahu says more military pressure is needed to achieve Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages held by Hamas and eliminating the militant group altogether.
March changes route
Activists have bowed to police pressure and abandoned plans to march across a major bridge as part of a national day of action against the war in Gaza.
Pro-Palestine protesters have dropped plans to march across Brisbane’s Story Bridge after a court ruled it posed a threat to safety.
Justice for Palestine Magan-djin wanted up to 10,000 people to cross the major bridge on Sunday as part of a national day of action.
But a magistrate backed a police bid to have the march declared unauthorised, removing legal protections for those who took part.
Rally organiser Remah Naji on Friday said the Brisbane Magistrates Court had approved a new route that would instead feature the Victoria Bridge.
“It is true that we wanted to cross Story Bridge for the visibility because of the situation in Gaza and the ongoing genocide that demands visibility,” she said.
“The truth of the matter is we did get visibility without the need to cross the bridge.
“For now we are going to cross Victoria Bridge, crossing the river for a free Palestine.”
The alternative route will proceed through the Brisbane CBD, cross the Victoria Bridge and end in a much larger park than originally proposed.
Police on Friday said the Victoria Bridge option was a well-established route where multiple previous marches had been safely overseen.
“The Queensland Police Service is confident we can facilitate this new proposed route safely and continue support people’s right to protest without posing risk to public safety or extensive disruption,” a police spokesperson said.
Justice for Palestine Magan-djin proposed the rally as part of Sunday’s nationwide day of action billed as the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in Australia’s history.
More than 20 cities and towns, including all capitals, are set to feature to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington ruled on Thursday a march across the Story Bridge would pose a significant risk to public safety.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Rhys Wildman had testified in court he could not manage the risk to protesters while keeping access for emergency services vehicles to cross the six-lane landmark.
Commissioner Wildman said he had offered an alternative “tried and tested” route that involved starting at Queens Gardens in Brisbane’s CBD and using the Victoria Bridge to cross into Musgrave Park.
The same route was proposed by Justice for Palestine Magan-djin on Friday and approved by the court.
—AAP
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