Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations in Ramallah have called on the United Nations to declare the Gaza Strip a famine zone.

Amjad Shawa, Deputy Commissioner-General of the Independent Commission for Human Rights and head of the Palestinian NGO Network from Gaza, presented shocking figures, stating that more than 94% of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced from various areas into a zone that constitutes no more than 12% of the Strip’s total area. He added that 82% of hospitals are out of service, and 75% of medicines and medical supplies have run out.

Shawa further stated that “around 50,000 pregnant women face risks to their unborn children, 55,000 infants, 110,000 elderly people, 90,000 people with disabilities, and 900,000 children are enduring starvation in all its forms.”

Khaled Quzmar, Director of Defense for Children International – Palestine, explained that children have accounted for between 30% and 40% of the martyrs since the start of the genocidal war. He pointed out that with the policy of systematic starvation, 70% to 80% of those dying from famine are children, as they are the most affected by hunger.