Gaza mother blames famine for halving daughter's weight

Displaced and starving

Lamia Hijjeh, 5, has lost almost half her body weight due to famine in Gaza City. Her mother, Rida, blames the tragedy on the dire food security situation, which has recently been categorized as Phase 5, the most acute and critical level of food insecurity according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Sadly, Lamia is not alone. Many families in Gaza are suffering from dire conditions and Israel has denied there is a famine.

Crisis levels

On Friday, the IPC raised its classification to Phase 5, confirming that famine is already confirmed in the Gaza Governorate and that "catastrophic conditions" are projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of this month. Unfortunately, things are only getting worse.

Denied by Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the IPC's findings as an "outright lie" and has denied there is starvation in Gaza. However, the facts seem to speak for themselves.