UN-backed report declaring famine in Gaza ‘important’ but won’t change much

Declaring a famine in Gaza is important but won’t bring any short-term relief to the Palestinian population, experts said in reaction to the UN-backed food security body that declared famine in the northern part of the territory on Friday. Famine has been declared in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, which is used by governments and international aid agencies to identify hunger levels around the world. “I do think it’s important that the IPC has confirmed that a famine is happening in Gaza, though this does not come as a surprise,” said Anne Saab, professor of international law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. “The question is to whom does it matter, how does it matter and when does it matter? Will it make a difference to the people dying now? No. IPC confirmation of a famine makes it increasingly difficult for Western governments to deny what is happening ...