US official warns of Gaza famine, urges Israel to open aid routes

WASHINGTON, March 19 (KUNA) -- Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power warned Tuesday that "Famine is imminent" for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, urging Israel to take immediate action and open land routes to ensure the entry of relief aid to those affected.
"Today, food security experts released a heart-wrenching assessment that Famine is imminent in northern Gaza between now and May. There is also a serious risk of Famine for the rest of Gaza," Power said in a press statement.
She went on to say, "The catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition described in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality. With just two previous Famine declarations in the twenty-first century, this is a horrific milestone." "We call on Israel to take immediate action to put an end to this mass - and preventable - suffering," she mentioned, adding that "Israel must do more to protect civilians and allow humanitarians to safely and consistently deliver assistance." "There must be a continued and sustained international effort to ensure the right type of assistance is getting to the most vulnerable. Israel must do more to protect civilians and allow humanitarians to safely and consistently deliver assistance," she mentioned, adding that "We will continue to do everything we can to fight Famine in Gaza. We call on Israel to take immediate action to put an end to this mass - and preventable - suffering." Power underlined that "USAID continues to prioritize emergency food assistance through ongoing support to the World Food Program (WFP), which was able to reach 1.45 million people with partial food assistance in February - but much, much more is needed." "We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes," she said.
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden announced his country's plan to establish a temporary military port on the coast of Gaza, aiming to receive and distribute urgent humanitarian aid to Palestinians affected by the Israeli aggression against Gaza.
Biden said in his State of the Union speech that he directed the US military to lead an emergency mission to set up a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea on the Gaza coast, calling on Israel not to exploit humanitarian aid as a card for negotiation.
The US administration has reiterated its intention to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, yet the Israeli occupation forces has persistently hindered aid delivery to the population at risk of famine, according to the United Nations. (end) amm.lr