Val Percival

Hunger is present, and famine is looming in #Gaza. People are facing starvation and selling their possessions in exchange for food. Parents are going hungry so their children can eat. This is catastrophic to the health of people across the Strip. 4 out of 5 households in northern Gaza, and half of the displaced households in the south, are going entire days and nights without eating. This is heartbreaking. This protracted conflict is blocking much-needed access to food and other life-saving humanitarian aid. Displaced people are crowding in shelters amid harsh winter conditions, which will inevitably increase the spread of disease. Children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and older people are at greatest risk. To stop a famine, WHO and partners are appealing for an urgent improvement in food security via accelerated flows of aid into Gaza. Health, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services must be restored. Read our statement, with a link to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment: who.int/news/item/21-12-2023…

I have lost count of the number of times when I thought the crisis in #Gaza could not get more horrific. But it has happened again. The fact we are talking about 20,000 people killed, mostly children and women, and with over 52,000 (and counting) afflicted by life-threatening and -altering injuries, in nearly 3 months is both horrific, and, above all, a travesty for humanity. The horrors are endless for those trapped in what has become a Hell on earth. We are witnessing: •⁠ ⁠⁠on average around 300 deaths a day while hostilities have raged •⁠ ⁠⁠a devastated health system with only 9 of Gaza's 36 hospitals partially functioning; with none functioning in the north •⁠ ⁠⁠children orphaned after parents have been slain •⁠ ⁠⁠disease, hunger and lack of clean water and sanitation posing further risks beyond the bombs and bullets •⁠ ⁠a constantly perilous and restricted humanitarian space in which to deliver life-saving medical supplies in •⁠ ⁠⁠mental health trauma that will haunt many for years. The carnage must stop. We need a #CeasefireNOW.

A humble plea for ceasefire and peace. As a child trapped in the shadows of war, I intimately knew its smell, sounds and sights. I empathize deeply with those now caught in the middle of conflict, feeling their pain as if it were my own. War brings only devastation, horror, and destruction. Nothing else. In this critical moment, let us rise above the divisions and embrace the path of peace. The truest display of courage lies in choosing peace. I call on world leaders to unite and lead the world towards peace. Choose peace.