Follow-up – Al-Rashid
Director of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, informed members of the House of Representatives and Senate of Congress that famine had already begun in the northern Gaza areas, about 6 months after the Israeli war.
Power became the first high-ranking official in President Joe Biden’s administration to speak publicly about the spread of famine in the Strip, after months of repeated warnings from UN relief agencies and global experts regarding the worsening cases of starvation among the 2.2 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
Northern Gaza, the part that was attacked by Israeli forces after the attacks of October 7, 2023, was severely damaged and is the farthest from the crossings through which aid enters, which is still very scarce.
Humanitarian organizations confirm that it is impossible to deliver supplies to the north amid continuing Israeli attacks. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that a vehicle waiting to enter northern Gaza last Wednesday was “hit by live ammunition.”
Power was testifying before the House Appropriations Committee about her agency’s proposed 2025 budget, when Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro asked her about reports that US agency employees had sent a telegram to the National Security Council stating that famine had begun in parts of Gaza.
The representative asked: “Do you think it is reasonable, or likely, that parts of Gaza, especially northern Gaza, are actually suffering from famine?” Power responded in the affirmative, citing an assessment conducted by the “Global Initiative for the Integrated Phase Classification of Food Security,” describing the initiative’s methodology, which is An independent international body accredited by the United Nations as “sound”.
She referred to the report of this body, which previously warned that “famine is imminent” in the northern part of Gaza, and Power said: “This is their assessment, and we believe that this assessment is credible.”
“So, famine is already rampant there?” Castro replied, and Power responded: “Yes.” In a later part of her testimony, she reported that the rate of acute malnutrition among Gazan children had become “significantly worse” since last October 7.
She said that the malnutrition rate before the attack in northern Gaza was “almost zero, and now it is 1 child out of every 3 children,” adding that “with regard to severe acute malnutrition in children under the age of five, this rate reached 16 percent last January.” Then it became 30 percent in February. We are awaiting March numbers, but we expect the increase to continue.”
She added that the destruction of grain stores, markets and arable land, in addition to the entry of a small number of aid trucks into Gaza, means that there is “enormous work to be done in order to avoid the worst form of famine imaginable… Let me say that the conditions are as dire as anything I have seen in the past.” My professional career.
She was referring to her previous work as an American delegate to the United Nations under former President Barack Obama, and as a journalist and activist who wrote a book about how government bureaucrats dealt with genocides and failed to prevent them.
In response to a question from Republican Representative Richard McCormick, she said: “Civilians and humanitarian workers are dying in very large numbers.”
A number of lawmakers on a similar Senate committee asked whether the situation in Gaza had improved with the recent increase in aid. Power explained that this was not yet enough to stop “an already ongoing famine,” adding that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, “UNRWA.” “It is the only organization that has a network to effectively distribute aid inside Gaza.
She urged Congress to “pressure our Israeli partners to effectively follow through on the commitments they have made, in order to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
It also reported that the United States has not seen any evidence from partner organizations that Hamas is misappropriating food aid on a large scale, according to repeated Israeli accusations. “We do not see (Hamas) dictating where food is served,” she said, adding, “I can assure you that if the government of Israel sees (Hamas) doing this, we will hear about it.”
Last February, the US special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, David Satterfield, reported that Israel had failed to provide evidence that “Hamas is stealing aid.”
