US President Joe Biden’s administration is facing criticism after withdrawing a US-backed report on famine in the Gaza Strip this week, sparking accusations of political interference and bias in favor of Israel.
The report prepared by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which provides information about global food insecurity, warned that a “famine scenario” was beginning to unfold in northern Gaza during the Israeli war on the Strip.
A note on the Famine Early Warning System website, seen by Al Jazeera on Thursday, said: “The December 23 alert is under further review and is expected to be reissued with updated data and analysis in January.”
The Associated Press news agency, citing unnamed US officials, said the United States had requested the report be withdrawn. The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment Thursday afternoon.
The Israeli war in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians since early October 2023, plunging the coastal enclave into a severe humanitarian crisis with access to food, water, medicine and other supplies severely reduced.
The Israeli military offensive in the northern part of the Strip has raised particular concern in recent months, with experts warning in November of a “strong possibility” that famine was imminent in the area.
“Famine, malnutrition, excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease are rapidly increasing” in northern Gaza, the Integrated Interim Classification for Food Security said in a report. He warns On November 8th.
“Famine thresholds may have already been crossed or will be crossed in the near future,” she added.
Report
Famine Early Warning System Network a report The report, dated December 23, noted that Israel maintained an “almost complete blockade of humanitarian and commercial food supplies to the besieged areas” in northern Gaza for approximately 80 days.
This includes the areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun Rights groups estimated Thousands of Palestinians are trapped.
“Based on the collapse of the food system and the deterioration of access to water, sanitation and health services in these areas… it is very likely that the food consumption and acute malnutrition threshold for famine (IPC Phase 5) has now been crossed in northern Gaza. Governorate,” According to a report by the Famine Early Warning System Network.
The network added that without a change in Israeli policy regarding food supplies entering the region, it expected that between two and 15 people would die every day from January to March at least, which would exceed the “famine threshold.”
The report drew public criticism from the US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, who said in a statement on Tuesday that the famine early warning system relied on “outdated and inaccurate” data.
Liu questioned the number of civilians believed to be living in northern Gaza, saying the civilian population “is between 7,000 and 15,000, not the 65,000 to 75,000 which is the basis of this report.”
He said: “At a time when inaccurate information is causing confusion and accusations, it is irresponsible to issue a report like this.”
– Ambassador Jack Lew (@USAmbIsrael) December 24, 2024
‘bullying’
But Palestinian rights advocates condemned the ambassador’s statements. Some accused Liu of appearing to welcome the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Dismissing a report on famine in northern Gaza by appearing to flaunt the fact that its indigenous population has been successfully ethnically cleansed is just the latest example of Biden administration officials supporting, enabling, and justifying Israel’s clear and open campaign of genocide in Gaza.” “Gaza,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
The group urged the Famine Early Warning System Network “not to succumb to the bullying of genocide proponents.”
Howayda Arraf, a prominent Palestinian-American human rights lawyer, also criticized Low for “relying on Israeli sources instead of his own experts.”
“Are you working for the benefit of Israel or the American people, the overwhelming majority of whom disapprove of American support for this genocide?” I wrote on X.
Opinion polls last year showed that a high percentage of Americans opposed the Israeli attack on Gaza and wanted to end the war.
March Poll conducted by Gallup It found that 55% of people in the United States disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, while an even larger percentage Latest poll A Pew Research Center report, released in October, noted that about three in 10 Americans believe Israel’s military offensive “goes too far.”
While the Biden administration has said it is pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, it has rejected calls to impose conditions on US aid to Israel as a means to end the war.
Washington gives its ally at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and researchers at Brown University recently estimated that the Biden administration has provided an additional $17.9 billion to Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war.
The United States is obligated under its own laws to suspend military aid to a country if that country restricts the delivery of US-backed humanitarian aid, but the Biden administration has so far refused to apply this rule to Israel.
“We, at this time, have not made an assessment that the Israelis are violating US law,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in November, despite reports of an “imminent” famine in northern Gaza.
