UN Warns of ‘Imminent’ Famine as Gaza Death Toll Reaches 30,000
Image Source: Livemint
Fighting seethed on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, where the death toll neared 30,000 as mediators still insisted on a truce in the Israel-Hamas war, which could be very near. The Hamas-ruled territory’s Health Ministry reported around 91 deaths in overnight deadly bombardment in Gaza by Israel, whereas UN agencies sounded the alarm on dire humanitarian conditions and food shortages, warning of an ‘imminent’ famine.
Mediators from Egypt, the US, and Qatar have been trying to find a way to a potential ceasefire amid the deadly fighting, seeking a six-week pause in the nearly five-month war. Mediators said a potential deal could finally be reached – reportedly including the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for several Palestinians detained by Israel.
Qatar was “hopeful, not necessarily optimistic, that we can announce something” before Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden said a day earlier that “my hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a ceasefire,” but “we’re not done yet.” Mr. Ansari also cautioned that “the situation is still fluid on the ground.”
Reports have suggested that a pause in fighting would come before the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that starts on the 10th or 11th of March. Hamas had been pushing for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a demand which was outright rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s military campaign so far has killed nearly 30,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians within the narrow territory, with Northern Gaza completely demolished, and around 1.5 million people seeking shelter in the southern city of Rafah.
“If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in Northern Gaza,” the World Food Programme’s deputy executive director, Carl Skau, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
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