Famine should ‘shame the world to do better’, UN emergency relief coordinator sayspublished at 10:54 British Summer Time
10:54 BST
Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
The UN’s emergency relief coordinator says the famine in Gaza should “shame the world to do better”.
Speaking in Geneva, Tom Fletcher says the famine “must spur the world to more urgent action”.
And he makes a direct plea to the Israeli government: “My ask, my plea, my demand to Prime Minister Netanyahu and anyone who can reach him: enough, ceasefire.”
“Open the crossings, north and south, all of them. Let us get food and other supplies in unimpeded and at the massive scale required. End the retribution.”
He says this is a famine – the first ever declared in the Middle East – that could have been prevented, and blamed “systemic obstruction” for preventing the UN getting supplies in.
Asked what he would say to Israel’s government, or members of the Israeli public, who continue to deny that famine is taking place, despite today’s report confirming it, Fletcher says: “I would say to them, as I say to all of you, please read this report. Don’t just listen to me.”
“Read the report cover to cover, read it again, and be moved to action.”