Famine is Imminent in Northern Gaza

Today, food security experts released a heart-wrenching assessment that Famine is imminent in northern Gaza between now and May. There is also a serious risk of Famine for the rest of Gaza. The catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition described in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality. With just two previous Famine declarations in the twenty-first century, this is a horrific milestone. 

There must be a continued and sustained international effort to ensure the right type of assistance is getting to the most vulnerable. Israel must do more to protect civilians and allow humanitarians to safely and consistently deliver assistance. We will continue to do everything we can to fight Famine in Gaza. We call on Israel to take immediate action to put an end to this mass – and preventable – suffering. 

We also recognize the extraordinary efforts that humanitarian agencies and international donors are undertaking, and we urge increased safety and access in order to scale life-saving activities to those in dire need. 

USAID continues to prioritize emergency food assistance through ongoing support to the World Food Program (WFP), which was able to reach 1.45 million people with partial food assistance in February – but much, much more is needed. 

We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes. We also continue to demand that Hamas release all hostages and cease its attacks and use of civilians as human shields, and refrain from any action that would make it more difficult for assistance to reach people in need.  

Since the beginning of this conflict, the U.S. has been leading efforts to get life-saving humanitarian aid into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas. This is, and will continue to be, a top priority. High-level U.S. diplomacy led to the opening of both Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, and the recent 96 Gate, we have established air delivery and maritime operations in order to increase options for delivering assistance, and we continue to advocate for increasing throughput in order to get assistance to those most in need.