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STORY: FAO / GAZA FAMINE RISK
TRT: 03:47
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE SEE SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
20 JUNE 2024, KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
1. Pan left, destroyed area in Khan Yunis, Gaza
2. Wide shot, destroyed area in Khan Yunis, Gaza
25 JUNE 2024, NEW YORK
3. Wide shot, United Nations Headquarters
4. Wide shot, UN press room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“What we are observing is that we still have extremely risk of famine. Over eight months of relentless hostilities characterized by bombardment and ground operations and the besiegement of the entire populations have led to these devastating consequences in the Gaza Strip. It is extremely important that this is stopped, and it is extremely important that food access continues to accelerate to avoid this risk [famine] becoming a reality.”
6. Wide shot, UN press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“It [the IPC report] clearly shows that, if there is an improvement in the flow and access to food, water and so on, the returns are important, and the risks are minimized of a famine. I think that’s crucial. This can happen and can be done, and therefore we can reduce the current sustained risk of famine, which still persists and is significant in the location [Gaza].”
20 JUNE 2024, KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
8. Pan right, farmer Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri by his destroyed house
9. Med shot, destroyed house
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri, farmer:
“Before October 7, food was available in the market. We used to purchase food from the market weekly. Today, things are not available. [Even] if you find something for example, you won't find it in an hour. We suffer a lot from the lack of food items such as meats, fish. We haven't seen those in the past 7 months, and we cannot afford them.”
11. Wide shot, farmer Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri by his greenhouses
12. Wide shot, farmer Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri walks in a greenhouse
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri, farmer:
“My project, my farming project, I had to leave it. It’s been 80 days since I left my greenhouse project. I couldn't reach [the farm]. The workers were afraid to come with me. I couldn't irrigate. For 80 days I couldn’t irrigate these greenhouses. This has all affected me a lot.”
14. Wide shot, farmer Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri watches green pepper
15. Med shot, farmer Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri watches green pepper
16. Close up, green pepper
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri, farmer:
“There’s no water, no [greenhouse] plastics, no pesticides, no electricity. I don’t have the energy to grow and plant, I don’t even have money to rebuild my activities.”
18. Tracking shot, farmer Mohamed El Yaty shows his destroyed greenhouses
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed El Yaty, farmer:
“Before [the war], everything was available and accessible. And the price was affordable to a farmer. Today, there are no products, and the price are incredibly high. We simply cannot afford it. We cannot afford to do anything.”
20. Wide shot, farmer Mohamed El Yaty collects eggplants in his greenhouse
21. Med shot, eggplants
22. Close up, eggplants
23. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed El Yaty, farmer:
“We plant cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants. I had to grow the eggplants outside [the greenhouse], I couldn’t plant them inside, because there is no cover, no nylon, nothing. We were forced to plant eggplants outside. Inside, there would be tomatoes, but I wasn’t able to plant tomatoes, because the greenhouses are not suitable anymore; the greenhouses need to be covered. So, we ended up planting peppers and we used to plant cucumbers. Of course, the production is at 50 percent.”
24. Wide shot, destroyed greenhouse
25. Close up, destroyed greenhouse
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) raised the alarm over the high risk of famine across the Gaza Strip as long as the conflict continues and humanitarian access is restricted, according to a report published by the FAO-hosted Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global initiative.
The report reveals that the increased amount of food deliveries and nutrition services provided to the northern governorates have temporarily alleviated hunger conditions. However, in the southern governorates, the situation deteriorated following renewed hostilities in early May.
The situation in Gaza remains very fragile, unpredictable and critical, and any significant change may lead to a very rapid deterioration into famine, warned FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, while commenting on the IPC’s latest findings at a press briefing in New York.
Maximo Torero, FAO’s Chief Economist, said, “What we are observing is that we still have extremely risk of famine. Over eight months of relentless hostilities characterized by bombardment and ground operations and the besiegement of the entire populations have led to these devastating consequences in the Gaza Strip. It is extremely important that this is stopped, and it is extremely important that food access continues to accelerate to avoid this risk [famine] becoming a reality.”
Around 495 000 people or 22 percent of the population are now experiencing catastrophic food insecurity, IPC Phase 5 or Catastrophe, according to the IPC report. Almost the entire population of Gaza (2,15 million people or 96 percent) is facing Crisis levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above).
Despite the dire situation, “if there is an improvement in the flow and access to food, water and so on, the returns are important and the risks are minimized of a famine,” said Torero, adding in “I think that’s crucial. This can happen and can be done, and therefore we can reduce the current sustained risk of famine, which still persists and is significant in the location [Gaza].”
FAO’s data shows that the conflict and hostilities in Gaza have caused severe damage to local food production.
FAO’s recent satellite data analysis reveals a continuous increase in damaged agricultural land, with over half the land damaged across the Gaza Strip or more than 57 percent as of May 2024.
Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri, 53, is a farmer based in the southern city of Khan Yunis. He says the ongoing conflict has severely impacted his household.
He said, “Before October 7, food was available in the market. We used to purchase food from the market weekly. Today, things are not available. [Even] if you find something, for example, you won't find it in an hour. We suffer a lot from the lack of food items such as meat, fish. We haven't seen those in the past 7 months, and we cannot afford them.”
FAO’s satellite data analysis shows that, of the damaged agricultural land, approximately 61 percent are orchards, 19 percent are vegetables and 20 percent are cereals.
Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri said his long-term farming has been affected by the hostilities.
He said, “My project, my farming project, I had to leave it. It’s been 80 days since I left my greenhouse project. I couldn't reach [the farm]. The workers were afraid to come with me. I couldn't irrigate. For 80 days, I couldn’t irrigate these greenhouses. This has all affected me a lot.”
Like many other food producers in Gaza, Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri complained that the lack of supplies hinders his production of eggplants, tomatoes, and cabbage.
Yousef Mahmoud Yousef Al-Masri said, “There’s no water, no [greenhouse] plastics, no pesticides, no electricity. I don’t have the energy to grow and plant, I don’t even have money to rebuild my activities.”
Mohamed El Yaty, a 39-year-old farmer from Deir el-Balah who has lost half of its greenhouses due to the conflict, says the hostilities have impacted his diet:
He said, “Before [the war], everything was available and accessible. And the price was affordable to a farmer. Today, there are no products, and the prices are incredibly high. We simply cannot afford it. We cannot afford to do anything.”
Mohamed El Yaty says his farming production has been affected due to the damages incurred as a result of the hostilities.
He said, “We plant cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants. I had to grow the eggplants outside [the greenhouse], I couldn’t plant them inside, because there is no cover, no nylon, nothing. We were forced to plant eggplants outside. Inside, there would be tomatoes, but I couldn’t plant tomatoes, because the greenhouses are not suitable anymore; the greenhouses need to be covered. So, we ended up planting peppers and we used to plant cucumbers. Of course, the production is at 50 percent.”
FAO and other UN agencies have experienced logistical challenges to deliver agricultural aid materials into Gaza.
However, despite humanitarian access issues, the Organization is completing the distribution of 500 tons of fodder. As of May 8, about 2 900 beneficiaries have been reached over two successive distributions.
FAO is scaling up efforts to prepare essential food production inputs for transportation to Gaza by mobilizing advanced procurement arrangements once access is granted.
These include procuring fodder concentrate, greenhouse plastic sheets, plastic water tanks, plastic sheets for, vaccines, energy blocks, plastic sheds, animal shelters, and veterinary kits.
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