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Washington
Analysis | Israel’s war on Hamas brings famine to Gaza
Those warnings reached a crescendo Monday with the release of new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global multi-stakeholder initiative working on food security and nutrition analysis. It found that 1.1 million people in Gaza — roughly half the beleaguered territory’s population — are expected to face catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation between now and July. Many of those at immediate risk live in Gaza’s devastated northern regions, which are cut off from the south by Israeli forces and receive only a paltry trickle of the already-meagre aid that’s entering Gaza.
The fact of a “famine” is tied up in a complicated set of bureaucratic criteria, as my colleague Andrew Jeong outlined. It is usually declared by governments, though some U.N. officials have done so in contexts where no prevailing governing entity was capable of formally assessing the situation. The IPC uses a five-tiered classification system where “famine” is the fifth tier and “emergency” the fourth.
“Compared to the IPC’s previous analysis in December 2023, acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip has deepened and widened, with nearly double the number of people projected to experience those conditions by July,” my colleagues reported. “In the IPC’s five-tier classification of food crises, Gaza now has the largest percentage of a population to receive its most severe rating since the body began reporting in 2004, Beth Bechdol, deputy director general at the Food and Agriculture Organization, told The Washington Post.”
What makes this calamity all the more stunning is that it’s entirely the product of human decisions: Gaza’s civilian population is starving because of an Israeli siege, not an earthquake, extended drought or other natural disasters that have blighted parts of the world subject to famine. That reality is agonizing for U.N. officials.
“We haven’t seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world,” Catherine Russell, head of the U.N.’s children agency, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program Sunday. “I’ve been in wards of children who are suffering from severe anemia malnutrition, the whole ward is absolutely quiet. Because the children, the babies … don’t even have the energy to cry.”
“This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security Classification system — anywhere, anytime,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said in a news briefing Monday. “This is an entirely man-made disaster — and the report makes clear that it can be halted.”
Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official, said more than 1 million people are at risk because they have been cut off from aid, markets have been collapsed and fields destroyed. “The international community should hang its head in shame for failing to stop this.”
Israeli officials, chiefly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appear unmoved by the state of affairs. They blame Hamas for bringing about this crisis and reject growing calls for a cease-fire, which now include prominent Democratic lawmakers in Washington. “In the international community, there are those who are trying to stop the war now, before all of its goals have been achieved,” Netanyahu said in an interview on CNN over the weekend. “If we stop the war now, before all of its goals are achieved, this means that Israel will have lost the war, and this we will not allow.”
On Monday, international humanitarian organization Oxfam released a report outlining how Israel has stymied or constrained the delivery of aid, including attacks on humanitarian convoys, “unjustifiably inefficient” processes of inspection of the relief supplies, and denial of access to humanitarian officials and aid groups.
Israel has been using “starvation as a weapon of war,” for more than five months, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa regional director, said in a statement. She said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has “actually worsened” since the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to enable more aid into the enclave. “Israel’s deliberate manufacturing of suffering is systemic and of such scale and intensity that it creates a real risk of a genocide in Gaza,” she said.
That’s rhetoric that mainstream politicians are also echoing. “In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine; we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, said Monday at the start of a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels. “This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war.”
But respite is not in sight, with Israel and Hamas still at loggerheads over the possibility of a cease-fire brokered through U.S. and Arab mediators.
“For nearly a month, the news coverage has been about efforts being made toward a truce,” Atef Abu Saif, a Gaza-born novelist and the Palestinian Authority’s minister of culture, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post that detailed his mother’s death in a tent in Gaza. “Just a temporary truce! After so many weeks of such modest hopes, ‘truce’ has become everyone’s favorite word: a cherished, idealistic, holy concept. It’s such a meager thing to hope for — a few days without killing. But even this feels out of reach.”
Updated:
Gaza war protesters took to the streets outside of the White House in Washington DC, where President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Gaza war protesters took to the streets outside of the White House in Washington DC, where President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Chanting “Arrest Netanyahu,” the protestors brought in an effigy of the Israeli leader wearing an orange jumpsuit with blood on its hands.
A label on the jumpsuit read: “Wanted for crimes against humanity.”
Protesters poured red liquid from jugs onto the street across from nearby Lafayette Park. A speaker said it “symbolised the blood of the Palestinians.” Holding up blood smeared hands, they yelled: “Shame!” and chanted: “You are stealing Gaza’s blood!”
A small number of counter-protesters wore Israeli flags around their shoulders.
“We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” the former president says to Harris.
Michelle Obama adds, “I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.”
In a separate statement, the Obamas pledged to “do everything we can” to elect Harris and called on their legions of supporters to join the effort.
They praised Harris’s record of accomplishments, listing each of her previous roles in what could be interpreted as a rejoinder to Republicans who have labeled her a “DEI hire” — a reference to “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives often used derisively to suggest that Harris only reached the upper echelon of American politics because of her race and gender.
“But Kamala has more than a résumé. She has the vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands,” they wrote. “There is no doubt in our mind that Kamala Harris has exactly what it takes to win this election and deliver for the American people. At a time when the stakes have never been higher, she gives us all reason to hope.”
Their call with Harris took place on Wednesday. Barack Obama said the Democrats would be “underdogs” but pledged to work hard for her election.
“Bottom line is, we are ready to get to work,” he said during the call, according to a transcript. “We are telling everybody to kick off those bedroom slippers and get off the couch and start knocking on doors and making phone calls.”
Many Republicans seized on the fact that Obama did not mention or endorse Harris in his initial statement responding to Biden’s abrupt exit from the race Sunday.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” he said in that statement. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
On Thursday, Donald Trump’s campaign seized on Obama’s lack of an endorsement to make the case that Harris’s path to the nomination was not a done deal. Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said Trump would not agree to debate Harris until she was officially the Democratic nominee, suggesting without evidence that Obama and other top Democrats were considering backing a different candidate.
“There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party — namely Barack Hussein Obama — that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone ‘better,’” Cheung said in a statement Thursday evening. “Therefore, it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds.”
The Obamas’ endorsement comes after Harris already secured enough pledges from delegates to become the likely nominee. Biden exited the race on Sunday and immediately endorsed Harris, who quickly coalesced much of the Democratic Party behind her bid.
Just before Biden dropped out of the race, Obama told allies that the president’s path to victory had greatly diminished and he thought the president needed to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, according to multiple people briefed on his thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. In those conversations, Obama emphasized he felt protective over Biden as a friend and was concerned about his legacy.
“Curious, caring, creative woman, driven by the desire to be helpful; Global Citizen.”
Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
Fun Fact About Yourself: I truly love learning new things and challenging myself. One area where I’ve experimented the most is sports, particularly some that were somewhat risky, such as figure skating, snowboarding, and rock climbing. This journey has led me to break over 6 bones, guiding me towards sports with a smaller likelihood for accidents. Currently, my favorite one is paddleboarding.
Undergraduate School and Major: Tecnologico de Monterrey, B.S. Clinical and Health Psychology; Monterrey Institute of Psychoanalysis, M.A. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Business Owner and Psychotherapist at Elsa Morales Psicoterapia; School Psychologist and Program Coordinator at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
What makes Seattle such a great place to earn an MBA? Seattle is the home of many incredible companies, which have been attracting truly bright, creative, and driven people for many years. Being in a community where everyone you meet has an incredible professional trajectory, very smart, and stays grounded and authentic, is so inspiring and freeing. Additionally, being surrounded by nature gives a sense of peace and purpose.
Aside from your location and classmates, what was the key part of Washington Foster’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Applied Strategy Projects. Coming from a non-traditional background, one of my strongest concerns was the steep learning curve I’d face becoming a businesswoman. Having the opportunity to work with leading companies to solve complex problems or to find new paths for them has allowed me to start putting everything I am learning into practice and to get a taste of what my future work will be like. This has certainly helped me feel more prepared to hit the ground running when I start working in a business role.
What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Foster? Without a doubt, every facet of my journey at Foster has been immensely fulfilling. Each day presents new challenges and learning opportunities that feed my passion for growth. A standout highlight from this past quarter was undoubtedly my Business Statistics class, under the guidance of the extraordinary Professor Jennifer Graves. Profoundly knowledgeable, kind, and funny, she not only imparts invaluable wisdom within the classroom, but also extends her mentorship to equip us with practical insights for the professional world. Being her student was an absolute privilege, and I look forward to continuing learning from her! She is the perfect example of the woman I aspire to become.
Washington Foster operates off a philosophy of We>Me. Give us an example of how you’ve seen that among your classmates so far. We>Me truly encapsulates the philosophy at Foster. I’ve experienced this in various ways, notably during the recruiting process. With the current job market’s challenges in mind and the heightened stress levels due to fewer internship openings, people might expect individuals to prioritize their own interests and withhold support from others out of fear or competition. However, at Foster, I’ve witnessed the opposite! Our community unites to share opportunities and aid each other in interview preparation. Instead of viewing one another as rivals, we genuinely celebrate each other’s success. This spirit of collaboration, community, support, and warmth is one of the many reasons why I love Foster.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Establishing my own psychotherapy private practice stands as one of my most significant achievements to date. Rooted in my fundamental drive to be helpful, this endeavor presented numerous challenges, each of which I proudly overcame. Guiding over 50 patients through their psychotherapeutic journeys was an immense honor, and I am so happy and thankful of having earned their trust, leading to numerous referrals and a consistently full schedule from the second year onward.
Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: One of my greatest accomplishments to date is seeing all the effort I’ve invested and the knowledge I’ve gained result in the opportunity to join A.T. Kearney, Inc. as a Summer Associate! This achievement fills me with immense gratitude. Throughout the interview process, I was amazed by the remarkable warmth, kindness, and professionalism exhibited by the Kearney team. Their collaborative spirit and genuine interest in fostering meaningful connections have left an indelible impression. I am happily looking forward to the prospect of contributing to Kearney’s culture of excellence and innovation, working alongside bright, hard-working, creative, and kind people!
What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? In just 6 months I already have so many, but I think for me it’s in the everyday things. I think my favorite memory is a compilation of the days we’ve stayed late at school studying or preparing for interviews. There’s something quite special about working so hard to reach your goals by the side of such amazing friends who are going through the exact same thing.
DON’T MISS: MEET WASHINGTON FOSTER’S MBA CLASS OF 2025
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