Famine may yet be averted in Gaza if Israel allows aid agencies to transport more aid to the Palestinian enclavethe head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (Unrwa) Philippe Lazzarini said today.

According to the UN, 2.2 million people, the majority of the population, are at risk of starvation in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip. And these huge shortages may cause an “explosion” of child deaths in the northern sector of the enclave, where one in six children under the age of two are victims of acute malnutrition.

“It is a man-made disaster (…) The world has pledged not to allow famine anymore,” wrote Filipe Lazzarini on X (formerly Twitter).

“Famine can still be avoided through genuine political will to provide access and protection to a significant amount of aid.”

Palestinians in Gaza have told AFP in recent days that they are forced to eat leaves, fodder or kill pigs to feed themselves.

Before the war, about 500 trucks with supplies entered the Gaza Strip every day. But as of Oct. 7, that number has rapidly dropped to 200, despite the enormous needs created by the destruction of the economy and agricultural production, according to UN figures.

The situation is particularly worrying in the northern sector, where “chaos and violence” reign, according to the World Food Programme, which on Tuesday suspended aid distribution due to fighting and mob attacks on trucks.

Today, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s body that coordinates non-combat operations in the Palestinian territories, Cogat, announced that 254 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and entered Gaza.

“There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza for the civilian population,” according to Cogat, which imposes strict controls on trucks entering the Palestinian enclave, delaying the delivery of supplies.