ISRAEL CONTROLS GAZA ACCESS
Israel controls all access to Gaza. COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows, said on Friday the IPC report ignored Israeli data on aid deliveries and overlooked a recent increase in food supplies taken into the territory.
“COGAT firmly rejects the claim of famine in the Gaza Strip, and particularly in Gaza City,” the agency said, denouncing the report as “unprofessional”.
The UN has long complained of obstacles to getting aid into Gaza and distributing it throughout the war zone, blaming impediments on Israel and lawlessness. Israel has been critical of the UN-led operation and accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the militants deny.
The IPC said the analysis released on Friday only covered people living in Gaza, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis governorates. It was unable to classify North Gaza governorate due to access restrictions and a lack of data and it excluded any remaining population in the southern Rafah region as it is largely uninhabited.
It is the fifth time in the past 14 years that a famine has been determined by the IPC – an initiative involving 21 aid groups, United Nations agencies and regional organisations that is funded by the European Union, Germany, Britain and Canada.
The IPC has previously assessed that there was famine in areas of Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and Sudan in 2024. The IPC says it does not declare famine, but instead provides analysis for governments and others to do so.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found that 65 per cent of Americans believe the United States should help those starving in Gaza.
Israel has long counted on the US, its most powerful ally, for military aid and diplomatic support. An erosion of US public support would be a worrisome sign for Israel as it faces not only Hamas militants in Gaza but unresolved conflict with Iran, its regional arch-foe.
The war in Gaza was triggered on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker an end to the conflict.
