Search

Gaza famine report withdrawn after ‘irresponsible’ exaggerations

“It is irresponsible to issue a report like this,” says outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew.

By World Israel News Staff

A report claiming that the Gaza Strip is enduring an ongoing famine was withdrawn following criticism by the U.S. ambassador to Israel regarding the document’s methodology and claims.

The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) published a report on Tuesday charging that civilians in the northern district of the Strip are suffering from “acute malnutrition,” according to calculations based on the number of people in the area and the amount of humanitarian aid entering the region.

FEWS NET is an entity created in 1985 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State that aims to track global food insecurity.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew noted that the FEWS NET report appeared to use outdated data, as well as a dramatically exaggerated number of civilians in the area, which appeared to have been inflated by five to ten times the actual number.

Clearly the inaccurate date was designed to smear Israel by holding it responsible for a “severe famine.”

“The report issued today on Gaza by FEWS NET relies on data that is outdated and inaccurate,” Lew wrote on his official X account.

Read  Hamas responsible for failure to reach ceasefire, hostage deal, says US

“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,” he continued.

“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.”

Much of the humanitarian aid that enters the Strip is stolen by Hamas or armed looting gangs. The vast majority of the aid meant to be distributed to civilians is usurped by strongmen and sold to the population at exorbitant prices.

On Wednesday, FEWS NET unpublished the report.