Israel fears the World Health Organization (WHO) will declare a state of famine in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Security Council is set to meet Tuesday after global experts on food security warned of imminent hunger in the enclave.
There is concern about an “imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said Friday.
Israel has dismissed accusations of hunger.
“There is a glaring gap between the reality on the ground and the distorted declarations that some NGOs have been stating about Israel,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told The Jerusalem Post.
“Israel is not the obstacle to peace nor is it the obstacle to humanitarian aid,” he said. “Hamas, a terrorist organization that cares more about killing Jews than protecting Gazans, is the problem and key impediment to peace.”
Concern for humanitarian crisis
Israel is concerned that a declaration by the WHO could trigger additional action against it at the UN, potentially even at the UN Security Council, where Israel is often shielded by the United States, a diplomatic source told the Post.
The US has declared its concern for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which it said has resulted from Israel’s military campaign to destroy Hamas.
Last month, it warned Israel that military aid could be restricted unless it took steps to improve the situation. Israel said it had increased aid efforts, including opening an additional crossing at Kissufim on Friday.
Asked about the FRC alert, a US State Department spokesperson on Saturday said Washington was “concerned about the limited amount of aid reaching civilians living in Gaza,” and that the report underscored the situation’s urgency.
“We have and will continue to make clear to Israel that they must do more to facilitate aid entry and delivery inside Gaza,” the spokesperson said, adding that the US was working with Israel, the UN, and other partners to find solutions to ramp up aid delivery.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War in October 2023, 39,000 trucks carrying more than 840,000 tons of food have entered Gaza, according to Israel. At issue has been not just the entry of goods, but the difficulty in the distribution of the aid.
The Biden admiration would “make our judgments” this week “about what kind of progress” Israel has made and “what we do in response,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation.
The issue of declaring a famine in Gaza, however, has grown beyond ensuring that Palestinians in the enclave have food; it enters the realm of Israel’s battle against the international community for legitimacy.
A WHO declaration could also impact the pending cases against Israel at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, the source told the Post.
Israel’s decision to shutter the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem has already sparked calls for its ouster from the UN as well as a push to strip it of voting rights at the UN General Assembly.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke about Israel’s international diplomatic battle at the transfer of power ceremony held in his honor at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, saying he planned to allocate NIS 545 million for the public-relations battle.
Sa’ar cited the UN General Assembly vote in September to strip Israel of the right to self-defense. The purpose of the ICJ and ICC proceedings was also to deny Israel that right, he said.
Israel is the “most threatened country in the world – the only country where the leaders of other countries, especially Iran, are openly calling for its destruction,” Sa’ar said.
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