Jeremy Bowen: Israel denies famine looms in Gaza, but evidence is overwhelming - BBC News

International pressure has led Israel to agree to let in more aid after seven charity workers were killed.

2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, ReutersImage caption, Erez crossing remains closed despite Israel saying it would reopen itBy Jeremy BowenBBC international editor The first time I crossed into Gaza through the Erez checkpoint in 1991 it was not much more than a few bored Israeli soldiers in a shed, checking IDs, before they let visitors drive their cars through an opening in the barbed wire and into Gaza.

In the years since then, it evolved into a gleaming terminal, with complex layers of concrete walls, defences and steel gates, all covered with dozens of CCTV cameras. Only the very trusted and privileged were allowed to drive through Erez. Journalists had to walk and drag their bags with them.

Until 7 October, when Hamas fighters smashed through Erez. They attacked the nearby military base, killing Israeli soldiers and taking others hostage. Since then, it has been closed to all but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

As part of Israel's attempt to placate President Joe Biden after seven workers from the World Central Kitchen charity were killed by the IDF, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to reopen Erez to humanitarian convoys.

That matters because it is the simplest way to get aid to perhaps 300,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza. The most authoritative measure of food emergencies, known as the IPC, has warned that famine will have gripped the area in the next four weeks or so. Joe Biden's humanitarian envoy to Gaza, David Satterfield, said on Wednesday that there was "an imminent risk of famine for the majority, if not all, the 2.2 million population of Gaza".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68788140

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