Haitham Imad / EPA
NOTICE OF THE DEFENSE MINISTER ABOUT THE FOCK. UN officially declared hunger in the city of Gaza, the first in the Middle East.
The Israeli Defense Minister warned on Friday that the City of Gaza can be destroyedunless Hamas accepts Israel’s terms, while the country is preparing for an expanded offensive in the area.
One day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would authorize the Armed Forces to take the city of Gaza, Israeli Katz Minister warned that the largest enclave city could “transforming this in Rafah in Beit Hanoun”areas reduced to rubble at the beginning of the war.
“The gates of hell will open About the heads of the killers and violators of Hamas in Gaza – until they agree with Israel’s conditions to end the war, ”Katz wrote in a post on social network X.
The minister also reaffirmed the requirements imposed by Israel: Liberation of all hostages and complete disarmament of Hamas.
Hamas said it would release hostages in exchange for the end of the war, but rejected disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.
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Also this Friday, the UN officially declared hunger in the city of Gazathe first to reach the Middle East after the experts warned that 500,000 people were in a catastrophic situation.
The Integrated Food Safety Classification Staff (IPC), a UN organism based in Rome, confirmed that hunger was underway in Gaza.
The hunger should extend to the provinces of Deir El-Balah (Center) and Khan Yunis (south) by the end of September, according to the statement, quoted by the French-Presse (AFP) news agency.
The statement was made after months of alerts about a hunger situation in Palestinian territory devastated by an offensive from Israel since October 2023.
Humanitarian groups have denounced that the restrictions Imposed by Israel to the entry of food and other types of help in Gaza, as well as the military offensive, were causing high levels of hunger among Palestinian civilians, especially children.
Hunger in Gaza “could have been avoided” without “the systematic obstruction of Israel”, accused in Geneva the responsible for coordinating the United Nations humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher.
“This hunger goes and must haunt us all”He insisted.
The IPC statement, which confirms for the first time a hunger situation in the Middle East, will certainly Increase international pressure on Israelthe US Associated Press (AP) news agency said.
The province of Gaza represents about 20% of the Gaza Strip area.
Adding Khan Yunis (29.5%) and Deir El-Balah (16%), the hunger situation could cover about two thirds of the total area of the Gaza Strip, a territory of 365 square kilometers where more than two million Palestinians live.
According to UN experts, more than half a million people in Gaza face catastrophic conditions, The highest level of IPC food deprivation, characterized by hunger and death.
The number, based on information collected by August 15, is expected to rise to almost 641,000 by the end of September, said AFP.
According to the IPC, this is the most serious deterioration of the situation since the beginning of its analysis in the Gaza Strip.
For the IPC, a hunger is underway when Three elements are gathered: At least 20% of homes (one in five) face extreme food scarcity, at least 30% of children under 5 (one in three) suffer from acute malnutrition and at least two people in 10,000 hungry every day.
The situation is the result of the escalation of the conflict in recent months, which has caused massive displacement of the population, combined with restricted access to food supplies caused by Israel.
In early March, Israel totally banned the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza, before authorizing, at the end of May, the transportation of limited quantities, causing serious needs of food, medicines and fuel.
Israel, who controls all access to Gaza, accuses Hamas of looting humanitarian aid, which the group denies, and humanitarian organizations of not distributing it.
Humanitarian organizations stated that Israel imposed excessive restrictions and considered it very dangerous to distribute aid in the middle of war.
