Displaced Palestinians inspect the damage to their tents following overnight Israeli bombardment at the Rafah refugee camp in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Food security situation in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating, said a UN official, adding that 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza – about half of the population – are currently categorised at level five which is classified as a catastrophe, possibly leading to famine.
UNICEF’s regional director for Middle East and North Africa, also called for the opening of all crossings into Gaza, slaming world’s ‘shocking inaction’ on impending famine in Gaza.
At least 31,819 people have been killed and 73,934 wounded by Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, according to the latest figures shared by the Health Ministry.
Watch this page for more live udpates:
[10:00pm Doha Time] Qatar 'cautiously optimistic about ongoing Gaza negotiations' says MoFA spokesperson
The State of Qatar is cautiously optimistic about the ongoing negotiations in Doha to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, said Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, on Tuesday. Read more.
[4:30pm Doha Time] Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, during the weekly media briefing:
"The negotiations are going and that’s what gives us optimism right now, is that we resume the negotiations in such a process. We hope that we can continue building on the fact that the talks took place in Doha, and continue these talks in the next days."
Dr. @majedalansari Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the weekly media briefing:
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) March 19, 2024
The negotiations are going and that’s what gives us optimism right now, is that we resume the negotiations in such a process.
We hope that we can continue building on the fact… pic.twitter.com/YGoN2ykPwo
---
[4pm Doha Time] 86th Qatari aid plane for Gaza arrives in Egypt, new batch of wounded evacuated to Doha. Read more.
---
[12:25pm Doha Time] Gaza death toll climbs
A woman embraces a crying child as they mourn relatives who were killed during Israeli bombardment late the previous night, at al-Najar Hospital in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
At least 31,819 people have been killed and 73,934 wounded by Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, according to the latest figures shared by the Health Ministry.
The statement added that 93 people were killed and 142 wounded in the past 24 hours.
[11:45am Doha Time] Israeli settlers attack Palestinian home in occupied West Bank
Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian home and several cars in the villages of Burin and Madama, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, local sources said, adding that Israeli forces who arrived at the scene did nothing to stop the attack.
According to Wafa news agency, settlers from the Yitzhar settlement – established on Palestinian lands south of Nablus – attacked a house belonging to the Hindi family with stones, and smashed its windows and several cars belonging to Palestinians.
Israeli forces arrived at the site of the attack to provide protection for the settlers, witnesses told Wafa, and fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at Palestinians. No injuries were reported.
The UN has documented more than 650 settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, an average of four settler attacks every day – the highest since the UN started recording such incidents in 2006.
[9:30am Doha Time] More than a million people in Gaza face risk of acute malnutrition: UN official
A boy fills water containers from a hose in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, says the food security situation in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating.
Food security in the enclave “has deteriorated at a pace and a frequency that we have never seen before”, Bechdol told Al Jazeera.
According to Bechdol, there are three crisis levels of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
Bechdol said 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza – about half of the population – are currently categorised at level five which is classified as a catastrophe, possibly leading to famine.
“This means that households at this particular level have an extreme lack of food and unable to meet most of their basic needs,” Bechdol said. “People are starving and they face a significantly increased risk of acute malnutrition and ultimately death.”
[8:45am Doha Time] UNICEF official slams world’s ‘shocking inaction’ on impending famine in Gaza
Displaced Palestinians inspect the damage to their tents following overnight Israeli bombardment at the Rafah refugee camp in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s regional director for Middle East and North Africa, has called for the opening of all crossings into Gaza after a UN-backed report warned of imminent famine in northern parts of the enclave.
“The IPC findings on #Gaza confirm what we have been warning about of impending famine for months now,” she said in a post on X.
“The world’s inaction is shocking as more children succumb to a slow death. All border crossings must open now to allow unfettered access of humanitarian aid.”
The IPC findings on #Gaza confirm what we have been warning about of impending famine for months now.
— Adele Khodr (@AdeleKhodr) March 18, 2024
The world’s inaction is shocking as more children succumb to a slow death.
All border crossings must open now to allow unfettered access of humanitarian aid. https://t.co/lbYzXBQIGY
