Anthony Blinken: Gaza’s population suffers from “acute food insecurity”

Her entire population suffers from “acute food insecurity,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today, citing UN elements, at a press conference he granted Manila, where he is making an official visit. “According to the most recognised measure (there is) on this issue, 100% of Gaza’s population is in acute food insecurity. This is the first time that an entire population has been classified this way,” Blinken said, stressing that it is urgent to launch more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave. UN agencies specializing in this matter warned yesterday, Monday, that over 1.1 million Gazans, i.e. half its population, are already facing a “destructive hunger situation”, approaching the famine, “the highest number ever recorded” by the organisation. “Without changes in access to humanitarian aid, hunger arrives” in the northern part of Gaza Strip, Deputy Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Beth Besdoll confirmed to AFP. “It is likely to be already uncontrollable in the North, but we are still unable to verify it,” due to the lack of access to these territories, he clarified. IPC criteria (Complete Food Safety Classification Framework) supported by FAO and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to declare that there is famine, are not technically met, but already “Gaza residents die of hunger,” WFP director Cindy McCain said at the same time. Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to have talks on efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and speed up the transfer of humanitarian aid. The American Foreign Minister noted during his interview with Manila today, that his visit has various purposes, including reaching a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas and ensuring the release of hostages. The visit is “to discuss the right architecture for a lasting regional peace”, the American State Secretary also noted during his interview.