Many of us of a certain age can never forget the photos and film taken by U.S. soldiers as they entered concentration camps-the emaciated prisoners with hollow eyes, little more than skin and skeleton.As a Jewish child, this affected me especially deeply.So,it is indeed more than a little ironic that the state founded,in part,as a reaction to the horror inflicted on the Jewish people,is inflicting this same horror on the Palestinian people.
Starvation is, fundamentally, a health problem. So, what has the medical community said?
As early as January 2024, the World Health Organization, writing in the British Medical Journal, accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. Using standardized questionnaires like the household Food Security Survey Module, researchers found in May-July 2024 that 98% of the population of Gaza faced food insecurity. Average adult weight had dropped from 74.8 kg (164 lbs.) to 64.8 kg (142.5 lbs.).(The average adult in the U.S. weighs 185 lbs.)
And, as we all know, the problem has as gotten much worse, especially since Israel’s total blockade from March to May, the bombing of aid workers and food depots, and the chaotic killing fields that isolated food distribution centers have become. Oxfam recently announced that $2.5 million in humanitarian and food aid was prevented from entering Gaza.
Israel’s blockade of international assistance has been condemned by 22 countries and the EU, and by every major non-governmental food, health, and humanitarian organization. Some skeptics point out that starvation and armed conflict are not unique to Gaza. Hunger is all too common worldwide, especially in Africa, and has become more so since the pandemic. The primary reasons are armed conflict, climate emergencies like drought and flooding, and the price and availability of food.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partners with 21 NGOs, including