The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations body based in Rome, has confirmed that famine is currently unfolding in the Gaza governorate. This finding aligns with months of warnings from humanitarian NGOs and UN agencies operating in Gaza, underscoring a humanitarian crisis aggravated by an ongoing military siege.

A July report by the FAO-UN agency notes that the destruction of Gaza’s agricultural land has largely erased local production. International food aid has not risen in step with needs; after a suspension of aid for two and a half months earlier this year, it was reauthorized but on terms seen as insufficient relative to the crisis.

Compounding the problem, aid distribution has been sidelined from many NGOs and UN agencies and placed under the control of a foundation created by and working for Israel. This shift, the article says, has produced distributions described as chaotic and, at times, deadly, while bombardments continue and people die while attempting to obtain food.

The famine is presented as a weapon in the article, arguing that the Israeli government, which possesses overwhelming military power, has opted to use hunger as a method of warfare. While famine is not unique in modern conflicts, the piece contends that the Gaza famine is the one attributed to a democracy widely recognized by Western powers, a situation it characterizes as enabling impunity.

The piece attributes much of the leverage to United States support for Israeli authorities, suggesting that Washington’s posture has allowed the Israeli leadership to proceed with political and humanitarian choices. It notes that the administration of President Joe Biden had previously given leeway to Israeli directives, while the Trump administration is described as going further in its stance, distancing itself from the IPC famine declaration and aligning with Netanyahu’s government’s framing of famine as Hamas propaganda.

The article also cites tensions with the International Criminal Court, which has issued warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged famine-related actions. It recalls that the Geneva Conventions’ protocols explicitly prohibit famine as a method of warfare, framing such conduct as a war crime. By this account, the United States’ stance on these issues is presented as a political and moral fault in the handling of Gaza’s crisis.

Overall, the text argues that Washington’s stance and its allies’ support amplify what it describes as a failure to uphold humanitarian norms in Gaza.

Source: Full Article LeMonde