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Ever since Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza and then denied any shipment of food aid into Gaza for two months, I think it was in total, some of the stuff has been allowed in now
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Of course, there's a very controversial distribution of aid by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund with over a thousand Palestinians being killed trying to get hold of any kind of food
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What has happened, and it is deeply shocking and obviously traumatic for people in the Gaza Strip, other Palestinians, but also around the world, is that starvation has taken place
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The UN has now officially declared it to be a famine. And let's be clear, this is a man-made famine
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This is not a natural disaster. This is entirely concocted by the reality created by the IDF and the Israeli government
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just as Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that the war will be stepped up
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There's a full scale occupation, military occupation going on of the last place that
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wasn't completely destroyed. And that was Gaza City. This as and we should mention this obviously
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as well, as the hostages still have not been released, there are still 20 living hostages
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also and then the bodies of another 25 or more in the Gaza Strip, they should also be released
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immediately by Hamas, that has not taken place. But I want to talk in particular about starvation
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and about famine. And how do you get out of it? What kind of lasting effects does it leave? What
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does it do to a population, especially a young population? Let's speak to Reham Jafari. She's
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the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine and joins us now live from
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the West Bank. Good morning, Reham. Good morning, and thanks for having me
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it's good to speak to you tell us about starvation and famine what are the official
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designations definitions of famine and why do you think or what do people think that that is
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now taking place in the gaza strip thank you thanks again so the famine or starvation it is
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lack of access to food and feeling hunger and feeling malnutrition and lack of ability to move to work
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feel existed lack of access to basic food and water We here need to focus on the lack of clear water in Gaza
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which is another aspect of famine in Gaza. So this famine and the starvation that is taking place in Gaza
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It is a man-made famine, resulted and caused by relentless bombing, by severe closure and preventing the delivery of aid by Israeli army and Israeli authorities for months
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Since the first day of the war, Israel used the food and the starvation as a weapon of war by preventing and by hindering the delivery of food, closing the borders
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What is being delivered to Gaza is very limited. That couldn't cover only 15 percent of the needs of Gaza
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So the people in Gaza, the children, the pregnant women, the lactating women, the breastfeeding women, the mothers, the parents are suffering from malnutrition
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Many of them, and especially in the Gaza city, suffer from the acute malnutrition
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And yes, this famine is the famine of this century. is famine that it is unfolding before the eyes of the world the complicity and the silence of the
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world of the world and the world governments and the world leaders let this famine to continue and
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to reach this level we repeatedly warned and issued many statements many press releases many warnings
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indicating that famine will be a sure result and a credit or a result to that
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Sure Let me interject quickly Riam I mean obviously the Israeli government is vociferously denying that they using starvation as a weapon of war They are saying that there is no famine and that and some of them are even saying that the pictures of very very skinny kids you know bones and skin that those are concocted
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That's fake news. That's what they're saying. And you obviously disagree with that
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I just wonder if we can talk about the specifics for a minute. the israeli government has also said this is according to you know the israeli newspaper
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reports inside as well that they calculated that the amount of calories they would allow
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into the gaza strip per person was about 1250 that is that is not a lot is it
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i didn't hear the last sentence for but in general i want to emphasize and
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But before we go general, I want to do specifics here. Do the Israelis apparently, when they calculate how much food is permitted into the Gaza Strip
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they have come to the conclusion that 1,250 calories per person per day
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is enough to keep the population alive but not very well fed
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Have you heard about these numbers and what do you make of them
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so what we we know that the people in gaza are are sick and are patients and are suffering
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and because of the lack of nutritious food many of them do not have a protein chicken meats
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eggs for months and months the the nutrition and feeding the people is not counted with the number
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of colorist to have a healthy people you have to provide all kinds of foods you have to remove
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all the restriction on aid and the humanitarian aid the the fresh vegetables the agricultural lands
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and the fish sectors were completely demolished by this war so the people need more food more
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nutrition foods the formula baby the milk and the breastfeeding is missing in gaza so that the
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causes for these malnutrition rates is the lack of food is the denial access of food is the denial access of medicine is the denial access of medical supplies here in gaza we are not talking about the the need for delivering food there is an
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urgent and essential needs for delivering medicine for delivering a medical equipment
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And even the male-nourished parents and the male-nourished children know that they will not be recovered and they will not be able to access medical treatment in Gaza hospitals because the essential food, the needed food is missing
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And I totally understand that. And of course, one doesn't want just, you know, the calorie count. You want a rounded diet. You know, you've got to eat healthy food, not just stuff those calories in
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but but that is that is the calculation that has been made i don't think the israeli army
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or anyone else for that matter even aid agencies in famines necessarily look at balanced diets they
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just look at the the sheer number of calories that can be put into people just finally there
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what effect do you think all this malnutrition starvation and famine will have especially on
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younger people in gaza it will impact their health their recognition their growth their
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mental status their understanding their interaction this impact will will last for decades
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and will affect their personality their interaction it couldn't be even cured or treated
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within the collapse of the health system in Gaza. Again, there is no time for the people of Gaza
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The time has running for the people of Gaza. What is needed? Immediate ceasefire and a crossing and opening all the crossing borders
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and removing all the restrictions on the humanitarian aid. And the world should act
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The world should act to adhere to its responsibility, responsibility to its humanity to its moral responsibility by stopping this war by
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and and and you have said that before and i think many people would agree with you that what is
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really needed right now is an immediate ceasefire in fact that was needed many many months ago we're
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gonna have to leave it there i'm afraid reham jafari she's the advocacy and communications
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coordinator at action aid palestine joining us there from the west bank thank you very much for
