UN Famine Monitoring System Warns of Worst-Case "Famine"
Satellite Images Show Massive Crowds Around Aid Trucks in Gaza
Desperate Residents Driven to Severe Hunger
Over 500 Palestinians Killed While Seeking Food Since May
Israel Announces Limited Daily Ceasefire and Increased Aid
As the Israeli blockade has led to a sharp increase in deaths from starvation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, satellite images have been released showing thousands of residents swarming around aid trucks, resembling a "swarm of ants."
On the 26th, a satellite image taken by Planet Labs captured residents gathering around relief trucks in the Gaza Strip. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
According to the BBC and other sources on the 29th (local time), the US private satellite company Planet Labs released satellite images capturing a massive number of Palestinian residents gathering around aid trucks. The desperate situation of residents driven to severe hunger is now visible even from space.
The photos were taken on the 26th, and the BBC reported that 15 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip that day. The report explained that the line of residents stretched an astonishing 2 kilometers north from the aid trucks.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership, a famine monitoring system composed of UN agencies and NGOs, warned that "the food situation across the Gaza Strip has reached the worst-case scenario, corresponding to 'Famine,' the highest of the five famine phases." As of July, it was found that about one in four households (24%) are experiencing severe hunger. The World Food Programme (WFP) also compared the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the famines in Ethiopia and Nigeria's Biafra region in the 20th century, where more than two million people died.
Previously, in March, Israel imposed a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, claiming that Hamas was seizing aid supplies. Since May, Israel has centralized the aid distribution channel through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and has only allowed limited distributions.
As a result, when distributions begin, the site descends into chaos as crowds, unable to endure their hunger, rush in disorder. In this process, tragedies continue to occur, with civilians dying from Israeli military gunfire or being crushed to death. Since GHF began operations, it is reported that over 500 Palestinians have died and about 4,000 have been injured in the two months while trying to obtain food.
The horrific situation of Gaza Strip residents is also evident in videos posted on social networking services (SNS). In a video uploaded by a journalist present at the scene, a huge crowd rushes in as the aid truck arrives, with some even climbing onto the truck, evoking scenes reminiscent of a disaster movie.
As international concern and criticism mount over the situation of Gaza Strip residents being driven to starvation, Israel announced that starting from the 27th, it will implement measures such as suspending hostilities for 10 hours a day in some areas of Gaza and increasing the volume of food aid allowed in.
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