Responding to the IPC’s new report on food security in Gaza, Jamil Sawalmeh, Country Director of ActionAid Palestine, said:
“It is truly shameful that, nine months on from a so-called ceasefire which promised to significantly improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the entire population of the territory is experiencing crisis levels of hunger, with the situation expected to worsen. The reality is there is no ceasefire in Gaza, only the continuation of the genocide, as people continue to be killed in frequent attacks by the Israeli army and deprived of the basic essentials needed for survival, from sufficient food to adequate shelter to medicines.
With Gaza’s agricultural land either destroyed or off limits to Palestinians, and most people having lost their livelihoods, almost everyone in Gaza depends on aid to survive. Yet our partners tell us that many community kitchens have been forced to shut and many people, including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, are still regularly having to go without the nutritious food they need.
The deterioration of Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation is not inevitable. The world must demand that the Israeli authorities lift all restrictions and allow aid and supplies to enter Gaza consistently and at scale, including the essential items needed to rebuild. There must be a real ceasefire that truly protects Palestinians, and there must be real accountability for all the violations that have taken place.”
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Spokesperson is available. For media requests, please email christal.james@actionaid.org or call 7046659743.
About ActionAid
ActionAid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. ActionAid USA is the U.S. member of the ActionAid federation, based in Washington, D.C.
