Michael Fakhri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, issued strong warnings today against Israel for their systematic destruction of Gaza’s food system – warnings which resonate throughout global communities as hunger sweeps across Gaza.
“No one should act surprised,” Fakhri declared, in reference to mounting evidence that Israel has engineered conditions of starvation for Gazans. He stated this as genocide and crimes against humanity by Israel since early 2024 (OHCR +4; The Guardian + 4; Wikipedia).
“His comments follow a recent official famine declaration by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), with its focus being Gaza City. Already more than half a million people are estimated to be suffering, while numbers could potentially climb as high as 641,000 by September according to media reports and estimates by UN agencies.” (TIME/FINANCIAL TIMES/AP News).
At the core of Gaza’s crisis lies its agricultural infrastructure destruction, according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization data; an alarming 86% of cropland has been abandoned; only 1.5% remains functional – northern Gaza suffers even worse with 94% rendered unusable for farming.
Fakhri’s actions indicate more than war; they point to a deliberate strategy for mass deprivation. His repeated warnings signal his intent to cause widespread hunger: “the most efficient starvation machine.”
The Guardian
Famine’s human toll is mounting rapidly. Hospitals report increasing malnutrition among children, due to shortages of therapeutic nutrition and fortified formula. August saw an additional 138 starvation-related deaths – 25 children among them- than earlier this year. UNICEF data reveals that only around 3 percent of at-risk children received necessary supplements in July.
At the same time, Israel’s restrictions have compounded the humanitarian situation further. Their dismantlement of UN-led aid systems and replacement with inadequate private mechanisms have severely limited relief efforts while exacerbating hunger levels.
Financial Times At a briefing before the Security Council in May, UN humanitarian coordinator Tom Fletcher warned of genocide risk due to the blockade, noting how daily meal distributions had declined from one million daily meals per day down to just 250,000.
AP News
Michael Fakhri stands among many in the international community in raising an alarm on Gaza, his message sharpened by data and history. Once capable of supporting its population, Gaza’s food system now lies ruined, no longer providing sustenance. According to Fakhri, its insurgence is no accident but deliberate.
As the global community recognizes that Gaza risks further degeneration into starvation without immediate and unfettered aid and restoration of food infrastructure, Fakhri and others warn it could spiral further into starvation; Fakhri warns this outcome is entirely preventable.