‘Famine in Gaza entirely driven by Israel’s blockade on Gaza,’ says UK’s Oxfam official

The UK’s non-governmental and charity organisation and charity Oxfam said “the famine in Gaza is entirely driven by Israel’s near-total blockade on food and vital aid, the horrifying consequence of Israel’s violence, and its use of starvation as a weapon of war”.

Her statements come in reaction to the integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) report published on Friday confirming a famine in Gaza Governorate which is predicted to expand to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.

Oxfam’s policy lead Helen Stawski said: “despite warnings in July that famine was imminent, Israel has continued to deprive Palestinians of food, denying almost every request from long-established humanitarian agencies, preventing them from delivering vital food and aid that could have stemmed hunger, malnutrition and disease”.

According to Stawski, “Oxfam alone has more than $2.5m worth of life-saving aid, including high-calorie food packages – now sitting in warehouses outside Gaza. Israeli authorities have rejected it all, at a time when it is needed more than ever”.