US ambassador to Israel rejects report warning of severe food crisis in northern Gaza
Jack Lew said the publication of the report by the US agency Famine Early Warning Systems Network "is irresponsible" because it "is based on outdated and inaccurate data."
Jack Lew, US Ambassador to Israel
Following the recent publication of a report, by a US agency, stating that the northern Gaza Strip could suffer a severe food crisis as a result of the war by Israel against Palestinian terrorism, Jack Lew, US ambassador to the Hebrew country, took aim at the report's claims.
It is a report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a provider of information and analysis on food insecurity that reports to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State.
"The report issued today on Gaza by FEWS NET relies on data that is outdated and inaccurate. We have worked closely with the Government of Israel and the UN to provide greater access to the North Governorate, and it is now apparent that the civilian population in that part of Gaza is in the range of 7,000-15,000, not 65,000-75,000 which is the basis of this report," Lew said in a statement.
The ambassador added that, "at a time when inaccurate information is causing confusion and accusations, it is irresponsible to issue a report like this. We work day and night with the UN and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible."
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What does FEWS NET say?
According to the FEWS NET report, denied by the ambassador, the disease and hunger that the agency says are hitting Gaza could raise mortality to more than two people per day per 10,000 population, thus reaching stage 5 of the UN CPI, the most severe level of food insecurity.
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