“Hunger must never be used as a "Weapon of War": Says UN Chief António Guterres

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the international community to reject the use of hunger as a weapon of war. UN agencies have been warning that the blockage of humanitarian aid to Gaza has led to food shortages and raised the risk of famine, intensifying international pressure for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has denied accusations of using hunger as a weapon of war. Instead, it has blamed aid agencies for failing to collect and distribute the supplies at Gaza border crossings.

Speaking via video conference at a UN conference held in Ethiopia, Secretary-General Guterres stated:

“Climate change has reduced crop production, and in conflict-ridden countries, supply chains are disrupted, hampering humanitarian aid. From Gaza to Sudan and beyond, conflict is spreading hunger,” he said.

“Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.”

In Gaza, the Palestinian territory already suffering from a dire humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing war has faced worsening conditions after Israel imposed a complete blockade on aid from March to May.

Even after easing the blockade, the amount of aid reaching Gaza remains far below the needs outlined by aid organizations. On Sunday, after Israel announced a “tactical pause” to help humanitarian agencies tackle the crisis, the World Health Organization warned that malnutrition had reached “dangerous levels.”

Othman Belbeisi, Regional Director of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), told reporters last week:

“Sudan is the world’s largest and most forgotten humanitarian crisis.”

Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his rival, the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Tens of thousands of people have died, and more than seven million have been displaced by the conflict.